1001 Grams: Lighter than it Sounds

Drug dealers will tell you the weight of kilos can vary quite considerably. Scientists also suspect this is true, but they must prove it with data. Towards that end, Marie Ernst will be lugging the Norwegian prototype kilo to a conference in Paris, where a new international standard will hopefully be set. With her life at a crossroads, the trip might just offer an opportunity for personal discovery as well in Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Ernst’s day-to-day responsibilities largely entail certifying various public pumps and scales to ensure the measurements are on the up-and-up. It is the sort of solitary detail-oriented work she seems to be well suited for. Having recently divorced her caddish husband, she has no real social life to speak of. Aside from her father Ernst Ernst, the director of the laboratory, Marie Ernst has little meaningful human contact. When her more garrulous father falls ill, she assumes his place at the Paris conference, where there are plenty aloof delegates quite like her. However, the institute has a surprisingly smart and engaging gardener named Pi (an unmeasurable constant, you see), whose company she finds pleasant.

Unfortunately, Ernst will have to deal with some family business before she can finally take control over her own life. Worse still, she has a mishap with the Norwegian national kilo. In isolation, all the fuss over a weight in a bell jar seems rather ridiculous, but Hamer makes the characters’ passion for precision measurement look like a noble eccentricity.

As a filmmaker, Hamer is one of the few stylists who can rival the whimsical visuals of Wes Anderson and even Jacques Tati. Frame after frame in 1001 Grams has such a strikingly composed look, one wonders how long it took Hamer to artfully arrange each scene. There is always the danger that sort of self-consciously idiosyncratic approach can descend into overly precious quirkiness. However, 1001 Grams is permeated with such maturity and grace, it never becomes cloying or shticky in any manner.

Ana Dahl Torp plays Ernst with a profoundly Scandinavian reserve, but the way she slowly and subtly expresses her stirrings of an emotional awakening is beautiful to behold. Laurent Stocker of the Comédie Française comes across like a nice earthy chap as Pi, while Stein Winge adds gravity and humanity as old Ernst Ernst, but Torp must quietly carry 1001 Grams for long stretches on her own. It is a feat she repeatedly pulls off quite remarkably.

There are numerous references, analogies, and call-backs revolving around the act of measurement that could have been absolutely grating in the hands of another filmmaker. Yet, Hamer makes them feel effortlessly light. He fluidly guides the pieces together into a seamless whole. A truly lovely film, 1001 Grams is highly recommended for general audiences when it opens this Friday (5/8) in New York, at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

Odd Norwegian

Odd is fairly common Norwegian name, but the English meaning is also fairly well known in Norway. That made it perfect for the rather aloof protagonist of Bent Hamer’s O’Horten (trailer here), Norway’s 2008 submission for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award, which opens in New York this Friday.

Odd Horten is a man you can set your watch by. For nearly forty years, he kept Norway’s trains running on time and right as rain. His entire life has been strictly regimented, getting from point A to point B within the allotted period of time. However, Horten’s mandatory retirement is fast approaching, forcing him to look forward to a new life free of the comforting structure of timetables and predetermined destinations. It is a reality he is forced to confront a day early when, through a strange set of circumstances, he does the unthinkable. He misses his train.

Out of the engineer’s seat for the first time, Horten proceeds to encounter every Norwegian more idiosyncratic than himself. There is indeed a fair amount of quirkiness in O’Horten, but it is tempered by its cool Scandinavian reserve that makes perfect sense when considered against the backdrop of frozen vistas and empty winter streets, which make up Horten’s world. Horten’s spit-polished uniform and stiff demeanor suggest a military bearing. Yet, he is a gentle soul, who proves to be a strong rooting interest.

Bard Owe’s restrained performance gives just the right hint of vulnerability beneath Horton’s glacial reserve, elevating O’Horten above many recent similar European comedies jam-packed with the requisite colorful characters. Hamer’s direction is patient to a fault, at times letting the pace flag. However, he and cinematographer John Christian Rosenlund bring a dramatic visual flair to the film, capitalizing on the striking winter landscapes seen from the windshield of Horten’s train. John Erik Kaada’s electronic score also nicely matches the cool visual tones of the film.

While most viewers will have a pretty good idea where O’Horten is headed, Owe’s engineer is such a sympathetic figure the understated payoff is ultimately quite satisfying. Clearly, O’Horten does not break much new ground, but it is immensely likable film thanks to the quiet charm of its lead. It opens in New York tomorrow (5/22) at the Quad.