Reprise (2006)

	Directed by: Joachim Trier	COUNTRY Norway GENRE Drama INTERNATIONAL TITLE Reprise RUNNING TIME 105 minutes
	Produced by: Karin Julsrud
	Written by: Joachim Trier Eskil Vogt

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Philip	Anders Danielsen Lie
Erik	Espen Klouman-Høiner
Kari	Viktoria Winge
Henning	Henrik Elvestad	½
Lars	Christian Rubeck
Morten	Odd Magnus Williamson
Johanne	Rebekka Karijord	½
Jan Eivind	Henrik Mestad	½
Geir	Pål Stokka
Sten Egil Dahl	Sigmund Sæverud	½
Mathis Wergeland	Thorbjørn Harr	½
Narrator	Eindride Eidsvold
Joy Division-jogger	Anders Borchgrevink

Review

Joachim Trier's intellectual aspirations are evident from the main thematic thread in his debut feature, Reprise. This is a fundamentally ambitious movie, narratively and thematically, but most of all artistically. Trier tries so hard to impress that he ultimately winds up biting his own tail. Fortunately, it's just a little nibble, not a mauling.

You will probably find more films about writers than you'll find about any other profession. Knowing that plumbers like to talk about plumbing, and that psychologists want to discuss our mentality, I guess it's only natural that screenwriters have a fascination with literary writers. In Reprise we meet two of them (well, actually maybe four or even five). In the leads, Anders Danielsen Lie and Espen Klouman-Høiner play young, ambitious writers. I might add struggling, although their struggles are quite different in nature. Trier discusses being young and idealistic in general, and touches on a number of subjects in the process, including mental illness, relationships and the state of being young and disillusioned – everything coated in Trier's intellectual, urban vision.

The bold narrative style is impressive; Reprise comes at you in sections, revealing glimpses of information before suddenly concealing itself again, until we are finally able to make out an outline. This makes for a rich film – if not thematically then at least cinematically. However, Trier can't avoid appearing somewhat pretentious as he tries to arrive at his allegorical conclusions. Both the direction and writing are poetic and grand, but the somewhat opaque script can't quite match the flair of the direction.

Although the film has its limitations, Reprise shows some fine, timeless insight into being in your twenties and coming of age in a big European city. The dialogue and acting are somewhat uneven, but there are bouts of true inspiration. In a handful of individual scenes, Trier shows that he is a talent to be reckoned with (notably a scene at the beach in Bygdøy and a segment from a party). The two leads are both very capable, and, although his performance has flaws, Anders Danielsen Lie demonstrates that he might be a coming man, 16 years after he was a coming boy in Herman. Alongside him, Klouman-Høiner displays sensitivity and a bit of range as Erik. And among the large, solid supporting cast, Henrik Mestad's small, delightful part as an out-of-touch publisher stands out.

Norwegian films are often small and quirky, commenting on society from a distance. Reprise, on the other hand, tries to immerse itself, and that takes a lot more courage and ability. Joachim Trier shows in segments that he has the talent to live up to that ambition, even if with Reprise he cannot quite compose a fully cohesive whole. Reprise is nevertheless an impressive debut, and it may also be the only movie ever made that includes a shot of the street from which yours truly is sitting writing this review right now.