En eaux troubles

"deUsynlige" (English title "Troubled water") is Norwegian director Erik Poppe's third film in his Oslo-trilogy where the first is "Schpaaa" from 1998 and the second is the fabulous "Hawaii, Oslo" from 2004.

All films are of a great caliber, and Poppe is proving to be a director who knows his ways. You are marked after watching one of his films, and this is so far the best, actually more or less flawless.

Of course, there are things which could have been done differently, but every scene in his films are carefully woven into the story. Here's no coincidences, though his films are full of them. Life's coincidences. Well, is it coincidental, or is it faith? Is it bound to happen? This seems to be something Poppe is also very concerned with, together with his equally fabulous manuscript writer Harald Rosenløw-Eeg.

"deUsynlige" (something like "The invisibles" directly translated into English) obviously uses "deus" in the meaning of God, and this is also a film with religious themes and setting, this being about guilt, truth and forgiveness. But more reconciliation than forgiveness. Some things can't be forgiven...

Is it possible for a couple to forgive a kidnapper being the reason for their sons death or disappearance. The boys never found. How evil is the main character? This gives the film suspense in more than one way.

You want this film to be interesting, and it is. You want it to be exciting? Well, it is! You want a film to be heartfelt. It is! As well as highly believable, scary, thought provoking, romantic, disturbing... Well, it's all of that, just like "Hawaii, Oslo".

It is impossible not to like this film. What I find most interesting is Poppes experimenting through the film. The story is told both ways, which is very unusual on the big screen, and still this works great. It's actually adding to the excitement.

The actors do their job flawlessly, with Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen making a fabulous character. The rest is just as good, even the smallest kids. Many actors were cast for this, and Poppe himself says that the amount of great actors in Norway is the reason that there comes out so any great film from Norway now. - It makes it possible to make even more difficult movies in the future, Erik Poppe has said.

Well, being impressed with Poppe once more, I promise you a great two hours sitting down to watch this. This is why I love watching movies. What a treat!

I thought this film was very delicate, very sad, and beautiful. A story of forgiveness and second chances, atonement and renewal. Several motifs I thought were well used, water being one – representing cleansing and new beginnings. Also the use of an out of focus close-up shot of a face (there were 4 or 5 used), in my opinion, to offer the notion of doing something so awful you become unrecognizable even to yourself.

The main character plays the organ, and is mainly the only music used in the film. Which I think works very well, leaving space for moments of contemplation. The two main characters represent polar opposites in what they are trying to do in life (trying to move on from the past v. trying to hold onto the past) – both actors were excellent. I also enjoyed the way the film was divided and structured.

I don't comment on movies that often,but this film really moved me. I didn't think Erik Poppe would top his last film Hawaii Oslo,but this film really did something with me emotionally.

It is beautifully shot,with some similarity to Hawaii Oslo, with a warm summer and shots of the city. The music used goes hand in hand with the whole feeling of the film and made me enjoy the film just watching and listening. While watching I got so pulled into the story of the film that it was emotionally painful to watch at times.I actually caught myself screaming at the screen in desperation. The acting must be of the best I've seen in a Norwegian film. Especially the two leading roles impressed me, but Trond Espen Seim is also worth mentioning. I really hope this film gets a wide audience because it really deserve it. I hope this will be Norway's contribution to the Oscars for best foreign film.

This is not an easy film to watch--for many reasons. On the simplest level, it is a foreign film which demands the viewer read subtitles; more importantly, it is a film without an exact beginning, middle and end, instead developing a story of guilt and redemption by delivering several points of view, which may confuse viewers accustomed to a quick and easy narrative with simple solutions. It is compellingly acted by an ensemble cast, features some amazing music from a cathedral organ as well as that in the background, and is paced so that tension is continuously maintained. This is a film for adults who want challenging experiences from film.

Jan Thomas Hansen (Pål Sverre Hagen) is in prison for killing a child during his teens. He is released on parole and finds work as a church organist. He befriends the priest Anna and her young son. His victim's mother Agnes (Trine Dyrholm) accidentally spots him in the church as his troubled past resurfaces to cause chaos.

It has a slow plodding pace for most of the movie. The lead is playing the quiet character very close to the vest. It doesn't allow much tension into the first half of the movie. When Agnes is put into the movie, it is a bit of ticking clock for the audience as we wait for the inevitable confrontation. The first half already lays out what is going to happen in much of the second half. Maybe it went one step too far by telling us that the boy goes missing. Nevertheless there is a realism in the performances by both leads. The movie gets much more fascinating with the two characters on the same screen.