We made some silly, off-handed jokes about “Reprise” last week in lieu of a real review, but we finally saw the film – a startlingly affecting feature-length directorial debut by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier – this past weekend and it was an arresting work of visual beauty and visceral emotional intensity.
In a unabashedly glowing review, the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis, called the modernistic yet, stylishly understated film an “exuberant, exhilaratingly playful testament to being young and hungry,” but it’s a story deeply rooted in friendship and emotional fragility.
The film chronicles the lives of two idealistic best friends (Anders Danielsen Lie and Espen Klouman-Høiner) with dueling literary aspirations that plays out with an electrical human energy, Bergman-esque contemplation and kinetic zeal; the kind that usually only shoots forth from first-time filmmakers (think early Godard). Poetically anxious devices are used throughout – skipping ahead in time; playing two clipped moments out at once and sonic bleeding/temporal cross-cutting from one sequence to another creates an unsettling and dreamy tenor.
The performances in the film are raw, unnervingly natural and infinitely believable, so it’s remarkable to discover both leads were non-actors (Lie who plays the emotionally damaged Phillip is a doctor and Klouman-Høiner, the unwavering Erik is a copywriter in real life).
Madness and depression plays a large role in the film as the Phillip character – the first to taste some quick and unexpected success – begins to unravel and develop an unhealthy obsession with his already-reciprocating love Kari (played by a beautifully odd Viktoria Winge). Watching his friend fray, Erik becomes his watchful support just as his literary dreams begin a late blossom of their own.
Musically, the film features some Joy Division, New Order, performances by the punk group Kommune, and an amazing and comical party sequence featuring Le Tigre’s amazing track, “Deceptacon.”
Cinematical spoke to Trier earlier this month and asked him about the film’s music. Their question also notes, that the film also has a light touch, full of youthful humor and isn’t just fraught with psychic disorder.
Speaking of the soundtrack, was doing the soundtrack choices expressive and fun, or was it calculated and deliberate?
Joachim Trier: Most of the music references were in the script already, but it’s like humor; you know, you get tired of your jokes and you change your jokes. And looking back at early drafts, you go “Oh, maybe they weren’t so bad in the first place …” but you made something else. And the same with music. And the same with music. We went through several drafts; at some point, we had “She’s Lost Control,” by Joy Division, and then “New Dawn Fades” fitted better, with the lyrics; you go through little changes. But the general idea of that sort of music was always there.
According to NPR, everything from Woody Allen to hip-hop influenced the young director. Skate culture was also big for Trier, which is not surprising considering he was once a two-time Norwegian skateboarding champion. Some reviews have called the film “hip and chic,” but generally these descriptors take you way out of the film’s context and should be mostly ignored.
The film is crammed with ideas, but never feels overcooked or frentic. The emotional anxiety of the characters – both lugubrious and thrilled – is all too real and their is a magnetic disquiet to “Reprise;” that kind of breathtaking cinematic experience that leaves you feeling your molecules have been rearranged. Go out of your way to see this – one of the year’s best. [A]
i loved, i loved, i loved this movie.