First of all, I'm not one of the above, and probably not the one to give this film the right appraisal. Still I went to see it, because I'm fond of music as well as films, and know the effort put into it.
Based on the script and idea of director Per-Olaf Sørensen, this is a musical where almost all spoken words are sung as known songs by the well known Norwegian singer songwriters Jan Eggum and Halvdan Sivertsen. Many of the songs are considered national treasures. And so the idea is good, though the ideas of musicals are often better than they come out in real life.
I guess most has moved around in nature humming on songs; or even has been singing for themselves occasionally. That is far from making this work in an everyday environment where people move around the singers. Here there are both well known singers, as Marion Ravn and Magnus Grønneberg paired with known actors like Frank Kjosås, Kjersti Elvik and the TV-personality Haddy N'Djie. They do an OK job, though the two singers are above the rest in both singing and believability. Acting functions OK as well, but the actors come too short when the backing music is too low in the mix.
That is my main problem with the music. It's without punch; except in a couple of scenes, where the power in the music comes through. Way too often the loved songs are arranged in a careful and slow way, so that the original song is hardly recognizable. The great feelings of the original songs are not paired with the situation and the singing in the film. If this one down to one or two of the arrangements, I would have understood and would bear over with it; but when it's like this all through the film; it's simply too annoying. It's only in the final scenes this film finds it's melody; and then it's too late.
The main idea of the film is OK, and the song material is suited well info the story about 5 persons living in the same small backyard in Oslo. Every now and then we are drawn away form the ordinary lives of these inhabitants and see the Barcode skyline of the Oslo harbor area. For no other reason than giving a perspective.
Still the story is both of grief and hope, and the whole theme is about the difficulties of love and that you got to take the chances when the opportunities are there. A film like this I think needs the viewer so go with a great happiness from the cinema. It didn't succeed that with me. But I was inspired enough to write this review about an mediocre film. I can't help thinking this would have been a great story about love without the singing. That both Jan Eggum and Halvdan Sivertsen are among the wedding guests in the end is not surprising but it doesn't add whats needed to make this more than a
