Off Track

This is the tale of a single mother down on her luck, and her brother who is experiencing a confusing transition in his life and marriage. Add to this several other people who get caught up in the drama, and they all end up at a cross-country skiing marathon, (probably famous in Sweden). A very heartwarming, and touching tale of folks trying to get their lives back on track before everything goes to the crapper.

I was a bit surprised at how light-hearted and carefree it was in many ways, yet also conveys a serious message. I guess what I learned the most was: never give up, be there for the ones you love, and it will work out in the end.

I was entertained by the story and I like cross-country skiing, so that's a plus. The acting was not too shabby, the musical score was enticing and provoked the appropriate emotional responses. I felt it was a great story full of life lessons for those of us who find our lives straying a bit off track. This one entails several decent hearted people that seemed to be going through mid-life crises, however they are all in their 30's, and 40's, so they need some self-correction a bit sooner than later.

The English dubbing was actually very good, in fact dubbed so well you don't even notice their lips are moving to a different language. The facial expressions, the culture, the pacing, and all of it were as if filmed in the states. Of course, this made it easier for me to stick around until the end.

The Swedish film Ur Spar (2022) (Off Track) is a comedy that has three main focuses: (a) infertility and how to deal with the frustrations it brings, (2) how to push and motivate a mother to be more responsible, as well as how to persuade her for taking a better care of her daughter, and (3) how to participate in a tough ski race that requires persistence and a lot of physical preparation in advance to be fit enough to ski for 90 kilometers. The three focuses are very well tied together and the two main characters in the film are the reckless mother and her very determined brother, who is very keen on training and keeping himself fit, to be part of the ski race.

The group of actors do a very good work, their interactions sometimes can be interestingly funny and I think the film achieved its goal i.e., be a light entertainment as well as at its end let us in a good mood.

A particularly good advertisement for the vasaloppet as it couldve been, barfing blueberry toddy and defecating in your skisuit in the pursuit of the finishline does not tease the average person, like me the grumpy old man, that have actually considered this race as the test of manhood, still havent tried due to lack of snow to practice on here in southwestern coastal norway, but its in there somewhere...

its a comedydrama, with an undertone of wornout relationships, where the egotrip is most important and revelation of new soulmates turns up like knots on a string.its very generic sweedish humour, the caracters are so medelswenson as could be, the whole soup hasnt got much surprise, and the loopholes in the story feels dragged and not so funny. Productionwise the editing couldve made more sense, the cast is not on the top, and the actual finish line of the vasalopp close down after 8 hours of racing.

But its a try, some might feel the inspiration to try the next race first sunday in march 2023...that is... if there are any snow ...

Loved the story, acting, script (watched with the English audio, OTT). Full of hope and I want to start a walking, jogging, swimming challenge ... loved the star's earthed attitude - looking after herself and her kid the best she can, at the same time being bothered about important civic causes like having being sensitive and open to people on the spectrum, both folks with mental issues and LGBTQ+. The movie did not get boring and the side roles of the brother, his wife the cab driver, the cop, all were superb. If nothing else we should learn to be more open and fit from the Swedes. Protect yours but be open where you can.

This movie was a great change from the popular violence and "who dunnit" that dominates tv these days. Watching someone change their life around, going from a depressed dead beat to being determined to change their life around - finding determination within. Loved it. Also worth watching for those who enjoy cross-country skiing.

Apart from the winters scenes this is a story that can happen anywhere in the world. The actors also helped make the story believable and the dual story lines interacted really well.

It's a relaxing movie well worth watching. Not sure which movies it can be compared with, but it's the sort I might watch again in a couple of years.