I’m really sceptical towards all Norwegian movies that are supposed to be comedies. The last few decades, the absolutely only form of humour that’s acceptable in Norway seems to be cringe humour, and that’s just not my thing.

So I’ve avoided this movie, because I thought it was supposed to be funny.

Neeerds!

I dunno. This is well-made, and it’s fun to see all these places in Oslo and go “oh, there!”, but… it could be snappier? It feels like about a third of the running time could easily have been cut. So far.

But I was wrong! There’s not that much cringe humour. Fortunately. It’s more… satirical. Brutal take-downs and absurdities.

It’s constantly low level witty.

It’s a somewhat frustrating movie. There are scenes where I go “this is totally magical” and I’m thinking Trier is the new Bergman or something, but then the next scene is like… nothing.

Great performances, very pretty cinematography, boring music. So:

The Worst Person in the World. Joachim Trier. 2021. ⚃

This is very high concept — the Bob Hope character has bet 10K that he won’t tell a lie for 24 hours (because he wants to help the Paulette Goddard character double her money), and hi-jinx ensue.

And they’re very high jinx! It’s a good silly premise, and they really lean into it.

I’m really impressed by the level on these Bob Hope movies — it’s all veteran Hollywood directors, and they really know what makes a comedy movie tick.

Heh, it’s the perfect ending — this guy saves everything.

It’s a really fun movie. It’s not quite perfect? There could be more gags beyond Bob Hope doing his thing, but it’s really good. Perhaps it’s really more of a ⚃ movie, but I’m going with:

Nothing But the Truth. Elliott Nugent. 1941. ⚄

Is this what they call Film Noir?

I jest, but the Criterion 4K restoration job here is a bit weird. I mean, they’ve removed all the scratches and stuff, but it seems like they’ve also lowered the contrast? Which is pretty unusual — you usually have them erring on the other side, making things too contrastey. I mean, I’ve seen this before, and I remember it looking cooler than this…

Can’t have Noir without blinds. Blinds are 90% of Noir.

Edward G. Robinson is the other 90%, of course.

What!

So here’s a screenshot from the 4K disc.

And here’s a screenshot from the 2K disc.

The 2K looks a lot punchier. But the 4K is in HDR, so, er, mpv does something to mix it down to SDR, and that’s not working optimally? Or… er… something?

Anyway, I’m switching to the 2K.

One moment…

There.

That looks noirer.

OK, it might just be my tribulations with the contrast here, but… I’m not totally into this film. It just seems a bit stodgy?

We skip back to his confession all the time, and that just makes the film drag a bit.

I mean, it’s good, but I was expecting excellent.

Huh:

Praised by many critics when first released, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but did not win any.

OK, I changed my mind — this is really exciting. We’re really rooting for these murderers! I mean, for their plan, and we haven’t really been given much reason to do so. Sure, the guy they’re planning to kill is a tool, but Barbara Stanwyck could, like, leave him. Instead they’re gonna kill him and claim the insurance and I’m all YES! DO IT! and then I’m worried that their plan is gonna be foiled.

And it’s all down to them being the protagonists — Wilder doesn’t try to make them sympathetic, really.

OK, now it’s not as exciting any more, and parts are starting to seem ridiculous. Like meeting in grocery stores — sure, that’s not suspicious at all.

This is a good movie, of course, but I was disappointed. So:

Double Indemnity. Billy Wilder. 1944. ⚃