Originally constructed tragicomic and occasionally satirical story surprises right to the end. Norwegian Oscar submission is about the pitfalls of young, ambitious writers. A precise yet playful character study, inspired by the nouvelle vague and filled with punk music.
Erik and Philip are best friends and both want to become writers. When Erik’s manuscript is refused by the publishers while Philip is eagerly welcomed as a young star in the literary firmament their young dreams clash with reality. The successful Philip ends up in a psychiatric institution and stops writing. Erik continues his struggle for literary recognition. This paradoxical result acquires a humorous form in Reprise, the Norwegian Oscar submission. It is a debut that lets go of conventional narrative structures and for a long time surprisingly leaves a variety of plot developments open. Joachim Trier, obviously inspired by the nouvelle vague and films like Jules et Jim by Truffaut, looks with equal amounts of humour and sympathy at the vulnerable world of young people who want to transcend the predictability of daily routine with their creativity. At the same time he shows how few youthful plans are rewarded with life into adulthood. Against the background of a Norway full of punk music, the transition rites of Erik and Philip acquire unsentimental topicality. How can the two writers guard their own idiosyncrasy in a society that does not always want to recognise their merits? –IFFR
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