Audience Member
The most religiously serious film that does not say a word about religion. Hawaii Olso is "paradise/purgatorio" in different manifestation. Beneath the visible stories there is the inevitable conflict of ambition and desires, the exercise of freewill out of our imperfect human foresight.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Hawaii, Oslo is the story of a handful of people who cross each other's path without necessarily knowing each other, during the hottest day of the year, in Oslo. We follow Frode (Stig Henrik Hoff) and Milla (Silje Torp Færavaag). They are having their first child, who they are told will not live long. We follow Bobbie-Pop (Petronella Barker), a faded singer who tries to commit suicide. We follow Leon (Jan Gunnar Røise), an institutionalized kleptomaniac who is looking for Åsa (Evy Kasseth Røsten), to whom he has a ten year old deal to get married. We meet Leon's brother, Trygve (Aksel Hennie), who fetches Leon at the institution to celebrate his birthday, but who himself has plans to use his leave from prison to run away. And most of all we meet the angel Vidar (Trond Espen Seim), Leon's best buddy at the institution, who sees things no one else can see, and who may be able to save everyone - except himself...
The plot in "Hawaii, Olso" explores the idea of redemptive nature based on compassion and love. We get a kaleidoscope of individuals, set into motion in both the world of dreams and reality and when they mix no one knows what is real and what is not. Despite the darkness displayed there´s hope and positive notions in the end. Erik Poppe doesn´t resolve each characters fate, but when Vidar the guardian angel sacrifices himself to save Leon he also creates hope for the others. The attempt to create a Norwegian version of "Short Stories" is ok, but yet it suffers from an amateurish vibe/set up and to be honest the acting is not always on the spot during the running time. I do like the critique of things that doesn´t seem to work properly in our societies like mental institutions etc. "Hawaii, Oslo" is a reminder that our humanity is not simply who we are, but the sum of how we interact with each other and what we do for each other. Every individual needs compassion and love to be whole.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The focus on psychiatric people in central roles in Norway is, obviously too popular. Even though this is a pieces-put-together, where the timeline gets jumped some back and forth, and slowly we are given the broader perspective through great storytelling. Not very unlike both Reprise and Oslo, 31 August, even though this is the predecessor.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Thank you MUBI for movies like this. A series of stories that eventually connect, foreshadowing that makes the whole movie seem like watching an accident you can't pull away from. I cares about all the characters and loved how mysteries slowly unfolded. Not sure what I think about the ending. I'd love to know what other people think.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
it was a litle bit similar to the north american movie called CRASH... but, in my opinion, this Hawaii Oslo is not much better than the last one drama...
sometimes a little bit boring
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I feel like I've been tricked a little. That's usually a no-no. Until then, I thought this was quite a fine Norwegian flick. It still may be. But movie tricks just don't do it for me. (Actually, in the time it's taken to write some of this I've decided it's quite smart and bumped it up to an 8/10.
The movie is the intertwining of several stories: a couple having a child, a suicidal, a con, a person in a mental hospital. Oh, you've heard that one already?! It's quite slow and pretty interesting. You know from the first scene of the movie where all the characters will be at the end. The story then starts over of sorts on this hottest day in Oslo. That's a great use of drama or irony or whatever it is. You know how the story will end but don't know how it will get there. There are clues along the way to make it more engaging. Finally, the ending comes and it's not quite what you expect. That, I have a problem with.
New find: It just hit me that I wasn't necessarily tricked. In that case, it's a pretty slick movie. You won't learn anything from it, so it could be a waste of time, but it is a nice, dark, well-acted drama.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
Full Review
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