a-ha: The Movie

Legendary Norwegian band arrive at the big screen in this phenomenal documentary. It follows them and their whole career from kids in Oslo dreaming of music to now. I like to consider myself an a-ha fan, but I was surprised at how little I actually knew about the trio.

To fans, this is a must-watch. To people who aren't fans, I still would recommend this as a wonderful drama set to wonderful music. The story is told through interviews, vintage photos, concert clips, and more. It's a phenomenal movie and just go watch it for yourself. Chances are, even a-ha's biggest critics can still find something to enjoy here.

Morten Harket, Pål Waaktaar, and Magne Furuholmen are still performing. The Norwegian trio has been a-ha on and off for four decades. Their song was everywhere for a good second. More importantly, there was that music video. For a few months, they were one of the biggest bands in the world. After their catchy follow-up song, I really didn't follow them too closely. They would show up here and there. Their new songs never caught my ear. Nevertheless, it's great to relive the 80's.

I always thought that they were just a Norwegian boy band which couldn't break the language barrier despite speaking functional English. Like most people, there is deeper waters here. One thing I didn't know is the friction within the band and some of their dissatisfactions. I understand their need for artistic fulfillment. The fact that they are still making new music is a testament to that. This documentary allows for a bit of nostalgic remembrance but also reveals something more about the band.

A documentary made for the fans, with a strong nod to those who will seek out their catalogue after viewing. With a large nod to Ron Howard's Beatles doc, Thomas Robsahm has opened the a-ha box and has shown everyone the pains of when 3 of the most talented musicians ever, collide to make timeless classic pop music with 3 different directions.

What the non-fans will admire from the doc is the raw talent from an early age - Mags learning keyboards in just a few weeks - the record breaking crowds, the solo projects and how 3 close friends ultimately respect each other - even when not liking each other.

What the fans will see is a dark picture of pain, distrust, lack of empathy and a drive to be World Famous - but then deciding fame wasn't for them at all.

It's a very well put together timeline which intersperses with old and new footage, rehearsals, recordings and not a single interview of the band together. You'll love it.

The Norwegian pop sensation A-ha has had a long and eventful career. This documentary is based on the music, but also how the members have experienced being part of this pop group. What I really appreciated about the documentary is that it devotes a lot of space to just the music. The film deals with the group's releases in chronological order, and allows members to tell about the background for different styles and choices. For those of us who grew up with A-ha, this provides new insight and it is exciting to hear Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar talk about songwriting, production and not least the collaboration between them. This documentary also reveals strong disagreements between the group's members, and the disagreements they have had that at times have made it difficult to keep the group together. I find this documentary both insightful and entertaining. It also has many new recordings of the group over the years. Key people also contribute. This makes the documentary appear solid and worth seeing.

This felt like a very personal movie to me, but left me almost as melancholy as their supposed breakup(s).

Before reviewing the film, I want to give some context about the A-Ha and my feelings about them.

CONTEXT A-Ha has been my favourite group since I was a kid. As with any fan, my favourite songs aren't the ones they released, but the hidden gems that later became more common on their playlists: Living A Boys Adventure Tale, Here I Stand And Face The Rain, Cold As Stone, Locust, There's Never A Forever Thing, Sycamore Leaves, Lifelines, Sunny Mystery, Minor Earth Major Sky.

Albeit, at this point, Morten can't sing some of those songs live like he once could, which about sums up my feelings on this film. It leaves you melancholy that you're watching a group that is now a shadow of their former selves.

A-Ha, for me, is a somewhat of a tragedy of a band (like the Verve):

They've written some of my favourite music, much of it never heard by the general public, so they're always judged on the more popular chart stuff (as is my choice in bands). They have constantly messed up their careers as a group and individually, so the media keeps thinking that they're making comebacks with every album release - even though they've only broken up twice.

They're judged as a boy band because of the attention that Morten (still) attracts from his female fans. But, personally, I feel that the songs should mean as much to men, if not more so.

They're three guys that have the most bizarre relationship and personalities. They're like family members that you love, but find so fricking frustrating! Three grown men that STILL can't see each other's perspectives, yet can write such beautiful music about life and woes!

"Sort your problems out, guys!"

I wonder if even Norwegian people understand the logic of their personalities?!!!

They've broken up twice. Once back in 1993 when they disappeared without telling their fans anything. It was like not knowing if a lost relative was alive or dead. Thanks guys. Yet, as the movie shows, they had plenty of information that they could have shared with fans.

Then, they 'broke up for good' in 2010. I was incredibly sad when this happened, but at least I knew it was coming and could learn to live with it. In some way it did kind of end on a high note.

Then they got back together again...

I asked myself, why?! Yes, some of their new music is good, but there is something missing now.

I did NOT enjoy the acoustic MTV Unplugged tour.

I actually preferred Morten's solo album (Brother) to a new A-Ha album. While I've (mostly) liked his solo albums - they aren't as good as his A-Ha work; at least not until now.

The current world tour seems utterly pointless and soul sucking! They haven't released a studio album since 2015. Their tours now are like those old 80s bands that have been touring since then with no new music. It's sad. They are a shadow of their former selves, especially Morten (although I love his Brother album!) - hence the need to play the album songs over Morten's live performances in the film.

THE FILM In many ways, the film really shouldn't exist. Yes, as a fan, I have this morbid curiosity to 'see' my favourite group behind the scenes and from the past. I put 'see' in quotes, because how well can you really see A-Ha. They are such complex individuals who reveal little to nothing about themselves, but just give you a taster of something.

I thought, wow, you have all of these cool videos and photos going back to the Hunting High And Low album - and you never released them to fans until now?! Why not?

But, it's watching their passive aggressive in-direct bickering to the camera, while pretending to be nice to each other. Why do they bother getting together if they feel that way about each other? If they secretly feel some kinship, then say so. But, otherwise, it comes across as if they are using each other for their own ends - there is nothing admirable about that and I don't want to see it. Magne looked in so much sadness and bitterness, which was uncomfortable to watch, because you then see him performing with them. Magne, why bother if this how you feel?

The impression is similar in how I think they feel about their fans. It's a love/hate relationship (sorry ladies, but you dream all you want about Morten, but he doesn't give a rats ass about you). You can see how they need to feel periodically recognised and relevant, but can't wait to escape into their Mercedes Maybach cars and drive away from them at top speed. They cringe whenever they receive any praise - only caring about how much praise they each get and feeling bitter about the inequality of it. I understand this, but who's fault is it that Morten gets the most attention and Magne gets the least?

Ultimately, given what I mentioned earlier about the lack of new material since 2015 and the previous 'permanent breakup' in 2010, I'm wondering what is the point of this film. They clearly have no plans to make any new songs - yet the film dangles the possibility to torment the viewing fans. Magne has made his lack of intentions very clear both for serious health reasons and because of bitterness over songwriting credits. Morten and Pal are too pigheaded to concede their own responsibility for anything, even though they both have the most influence over the band. It would be self serving of them to actually give a shit about each other. It provides us with little more information than was provided in the book about them (A-Ha The Swing of Things 1985-2010).

So, that leaves the band out there doing world tours for no reason.

Overall, I watched the movie with curiosity. I enjoyed the unreleased behind-the-scenes film footage and photos from the past, but the film left me feeling melancholy at watching a squabbling group of 60 year olds that still can't sort their problems out.