One Night in Oslo (2014)

One Night in Oslo (2014). 1h 23m

“One night in Oslo (orginally u0026quot;Natt til 17.u0026quot; which translates into u0026quot;Night to the 17thu0026quot;) is Eirik Svenssons second feature after the critically acclaimed u0026quot;Must have been loveu0026quot; originally u0026quot;En som degu0026quot;). This is a coming-of-age story about youth in revolt. Youth as we know them from films weu0026#39;ve seen before, when things are getting out of hand.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe meet a gang of 15-year-olds in Oslo, boys from the East poorer side and girls from the richer West side of Norwayu0026#39;s capitol. We meet naive, well meaning good parents, which really knows whatu0026#39;s going on, still they donu0026#39;t believe this is whatu0026#39;s happening around their little cute ones.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSomali Sam and his gang of 5, consists of 5 different nationalities, and his best friend Amir is the Palestinian which came to Norway only 5 years ago. They are both in love with the same girl, Thea. A love triangle of the classic kind. On the night before the Norwegian national day, the 17th of May, they attend a party at Theau0026#39;s, which doesnu0026#39;t at all go the way it should.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI found the film very realistic. Of course, itu0026#39;s not every youth party that goes wrong, but still this happens more than we like to think. The 14-15 year old actors are non-professionals doing a great job. They have been told to improvise, something which probably has lead to the good performances. The credibility is good, and the plot is also enough to drive the story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA success at the Norwegian cinemas, but still I think a lot of the audience above 18 has bashed it here at IMDb when it comes to the score. No reason for this, as this is a story which depicts very well what may happen with young teenagers when they come out of control. More so some years ago than now, I guess, as this kind of stories makes me remember the traditions of riot on this very night, with youngsters going berserk. Why this tradition is lost, I donu0026#39;t know, but that we could call it good riddance, thatu0026#39;s out of question. Quite possibly this film will get more acclaim by an older audience than the generation it depicts.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCasting is well done out of hundreds of kids at Oslo schools, and that a lot is put into it, shows that Theau0026#39;s mother is her real mother, which is spotted down to the dialect she speaks. This helps much on credibility. Weu0026#39;ve really seen young feelings depicted as well as this, without getting boring, flat, embarrassing or staged. Quite astonishingly well made I would say. Even though they are not all all likable the film through, the film maker manages to establish sympathy for them all.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe young film maker Eirik Svensson has had a good hand on the film making here as well as with the first feature. Outexamined from the Norwegian film school in 2010, and already a two time feature film maker with good films, is remarkable. These two features where made at the same time, so which one was going to be the first out in the cinemas could have gone either way. Still itu0026#39;s promising.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot flawless, by far. But good, and believable. So much that I think it deserves recognition for what it is. Could easily end up as a u0026quot;documentu0026quot; for the age weu0026#39;re in. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film should be a good watch for parents, as well as for youngsters. It deals with problems like drinking, home-alone-partying, drugs, youth love, gang mentality, parenthood, theft and violence in a way that should serve as a good warning to naive parents as well as others blind to cute teenagers. As of such, itu0026#39;s very recommended.”