Reprise

Released:  May 16^th, 2008

Rated:  R

Distributor:  Miramax

Starring:  Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman Høiner, Viktoria Winge

Directed by:  Joachim Trier

Written by:  Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt

Personal Bias Alert:  likes Trier’s Oslo, August 31^st, likes opaque films

9.2 of 10

             When it comes to serious art, not much is expected of young people.  Sure, you can break out with a pop song when you’re 16, but just try to get a literary piece or arthouse picture to be taken seriously when you’re twenty-five.  You’ll get smacked down or condescendingly called ‘promising’, a struggle familiar to the two aspiring writers in Reprise and to filmmaker Joachim Trier.  Reprise was his first film, released in his native Norway in 2006 and submitted in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars that year, but the larger cinematic world didn’t take notice.  It took two years for the film to be released in the U.S., where it never played in more than 15 theaters and, despite getting many rave reviews, was relegated to ‘discovery’ sections on year-end lists.  The flippancy with which people disregard newcomers is a shame because great art is great art, and Reprise is great art.

            Phillip (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Erik (Espen Klouman Høiner) begin the film by mailing their first manuscripts to publishers.  A flight of fancy immediately takes off, and we follow them as they imagine tumultuous but rewarding lives as writers.  They eventually snap back to reality, but the film never really does, continuing to take a meandering path through the young men’s lives and thoughts.  Neither of their careers take off as planned, and the melancholy, unsure life to which they sink is dwelled upon in intimate detail.

            Neither man is particularly sympathetic, as the ooze of their privileged upbringings and expected success makes for a rather off-putting smell.  One young women needs only spend a few minutes with their friends to disparage them all with the quip “It can’t be easy to have problems in this crowd.”  But Phillip does have problems, and Erik is continuously unsure of what to do.  Neither prove to be bad friends, just immature, and it’s this dynamic that Trier explores with such depth.  They and Phillip’s girlfriend, Kari (Viktoria Winge), have all found themselves in situations they don’t fully understand, and they’re not smart enough to admit it.  Their struggles against this fact is at times pathetic but mostly heartbreaking, particularly during a painful trip to Paris by Phillip and Kari.

            As was previously stated, Reprise was Trier’s first feature-length film, and it was early or first-time work for most of the cast, as well.  Perhaps because they were at such similar stages in life as the characters, the tenderness with which they observe Phillip and Erik never becomes romanticized nor absolves them from punishment.  There’s a real sense of trying to capture life as it is, and this along with the frequent dips into the distorted nature of the character’s brains makes the influence of New Wave cinema impossible to miss.  These stylistic flourishes are expertly used, drawing attention to Phillip and Erik’s dreams in a way that feels like a passionate reverie.   The small moments captured in these asides reveals how close to home these characters must‘ve been to Trier and company, but smartly they never let the familiarity lull them into bland stylistic choices.

            All of this culminates in a depth that is seemingly impossible to take in on the first viewing.  There’s an overwhelming sense of being moved by something that’s just out of your reach, something that you understand emotionally if not intellectually.  Multiple viewings is almost sure to reveal Trier’s machinations, but you’ll want to ruminate on the experience before plunging in again.  There’s many things to sort out after watching Reprise, and a film that can affect you on so many levels is certainly worth tracking down.

Other Notes:

Ø  Anders Danielsen Lie is also a practicing physician, because being good at one thing is never enough.

Ø  Joachim has pointedly noted that he is only distantly related to Danish writer/director Lars von Trier.

Ø  If you haven’t seen Trier’s follow-up, Oslo, August 31^st, I highly recommend it as well.