Reprise: The Nords made something that wasn't Black Metal...

Valerie like many people has cancelled her Netflix DVD subscription due to the price increase, but she still had one last DVD that she had yet to return to them, so we settled in to watch Reprise, a Norwegian film from 2006. She had added the film to her queue after seeing that it had been nominated for the Foreign Language Film Oscar.

The film has a very deliberate visual style and pacing and as much as it pains me to say it, I wonder if a remake into English wouldn't have made the movie more enjoyable. Now I'm perfectly fine with subtitled films (much more so then dubbed), but it just felt that in order to really enjoy this movie you probably had to be able to dedicate more of your attention to the visuals then was allowed me while also reading the subtitles. Reprise is one of those films that leaves you asking questions and talking about it after it is over, which is always a good thing. The film begins with Erik and Phillip posting their first manuscripts to publishers then follows the budding authors through the next couple of years of their lives. The filmmakers do a masterful job of creating the scenes with some pretty amazingly choreographed scenes that keep you guessing as to when/where in the story you are, which really works well with the story at hand. If you're into slow, woven, indie-style films, I'd say this Nordic gem is worth a shot.

Trailer