Odd Horton is dependable and contained: he's a train driver retiring after 40 years of service, living a simple life. His idea of adventure is to fly from one city in Norway to another. Starting on the night of his retirement dinner, Odd has a series of dislocating experiences: a boy insists that Odd sit by his bedside while he falls asleep; misadventure causes Odd to miss his last run; he witnesses an arrest; he assists an old man and makes a friend; he takes a trip with a blindfolded driver; he adopts a dog; he takes stock late one night at the roundhouse; he revisits his mother's disappointment in him. How should he live the rest of his life?
Acting
Baard Owe's magnificent stillness speaks volumes without speaking.
Direction
Hamer turns mundane Norwegian moments into dry comic poetry.
Cinematography
Snow-dusted isolation frames Odd's quiet unraveling beautifully.
Director
Bent Hamer
Baard Owe
Odd Horten
Espen Skjønberg
Trygve Sissener
Ghita Nørby
Fru Deinboll
Bjørn Floberg
Flo
Henny Moan
Svea
Bjarte Hjelmeland
Konduktør
Kai Remlov
Steiner Sissener
Trond-Viggo Torgersen
Opsahl
Per Jansen
Formann for lokomotivførerne
Gard B. Eidsvold
Stinesen
Andreas Cappelen
Flyplass personale
Bjørn Jenseg
Kelner
Morten Rudå
Røhmer
Karl Sundby
Mann på restaurant (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The blind driving scene used a real blindfolded stunt driver on actual Norwegian roads. Insurance nightmares ensued.
Bent Hamer deliberately echoed Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot films — Odd's physical comedy and social displacement are pure Nordic Hulot.
DK
NO
