Review of Oslo, August 31st (2011) by Ryan H — 14 Apr 2012

Such a surprise. When the film started, I wasn't too thrilled. My thoughts were that it was going to be cliche with an overdone storyline. I was very wrong. Oslo, August 31st is about Anders, a 34 year old drug addict who is finally getting a chance to re-enter the world after 10 month of sobriety.

He's scared of going back. We know he's scared because he hasn't been sleeping. The night before he had an evening leave (which he lied to his sister about, saying he didn't get it), and this day he has a job interview.

While being out, he decides to talk to everyone that was in his life before. He realizes that everyone has moved on, becoming an adult and living life, while he is trying to find his way back into his.

The only problem is that he might not be able to resume where he left off 6 years ago, in fact, he might have to start over. But he's 34, and starting over at 34 doesn't seem that great, especially when everyone around you has moved on.

I loved the scene in the cafe where the girl talks about everything that she wants to do before she dies. She looks to be in her early 20s. She has a chance of fulfilling a lot of those things, and in her dreams she can do all of them, but Anders is starting to realize that he might never get to fulfill his list of things he wants to do.

The first person he runs into is his old best friend. This scene goes on for a little too long, but it's a good place to start. His friend tries to act like he did when they were younger: drinking beer at lunch and when his wife asks him where the baby's binky is he acts like he doesn't know, then finally tells her it's in the refrigerator.

It's his life now. We see Anders go to a job interview, which happened to be another one of my favorite scenes by the way it played out. He also goes to see his sister, who doesn't show up, and he goes to a party where he falls off the wagon again.

It's all heartbreaking because you want something to work out for Anders. Everyone seems to care about him, but it's just that part in his life where he can't turn around anymore. He can't start anew.

Oslo, August 31st is a fantastic film that jumps past the cliches because it knows they exist.