Mongoland (2001)

	Directed by: Arild Østin Ommundsen	COUNTRY Norway GENRE Drama/Comedy INTERNATIONAL TITLE Mongoland RUNNING TIME 80 minutes
	Produced by: Ingrid Festøy Ottesen
	Written by: Gro Elin Hjelle Eigil Kvie Jansen Arild Østin Ommundsen

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Pia	Pia Tjelta	½
Kristoffer	Kristoffer Joner	½
Vegar	Vegar Hoel
Wayne	Reidar Ewing	½
Gaute	Gaute Garlid
Stian	Stian Kristiansen	½
Taxisjåfør	Terje Torkildsen	½

Review

Semi-idealistic, low-key comedy with an all-too-familiar ambition of being different and clever. Ultimately, Mongoland isn't that different or clever, but it does have a clumsy, inexperienced charm and a handful of quite funny scenes (including a segment involving a few cold beers and a hollow baseball bat). Kristoffer Joner and Pia Tjelta play an unremarkable 20-something couple whose personal identity struggles have separated them for the last half a year. They are the film's strongest asset (not least thanks to Joner's brilliant Christopher Walken impersonation), even if the script ultimately has little to say about them. First-time director Arild Østin Ommundsen shoots deliberately grainy images on an obviously small budget, which gives Mongoland a feel of immediacy in a few of the more crisply written scenes. As a whole, however, the narrative comes off as staged and stilted, with unimpressive subplots, such as the annoying Wayne/Ford Mustang story or the overstated sexless relationship between Vegar and Silje; the lack of depth here shines through a bit too blatantly.