perorewen

Løperjenten (1981)

one of the finer works of Norwegian cinema....

This film is about a young girl growing up in Bergen, Norway just after the 2nd world war. Daily life and the difficulties of the working class of the area is seen through the eyes of this little girl of about 7 or 8 years. She is trying to deal with her fathers adultery and her mothers continuing depression, but finds the love and friendship she needs in the boy next door. This friendship, however, is also endangered by his problems at home.

This is one of the better Norwegian films I've seen in a long time, and one of the few films I've ever seen that takes the difficulties of growing up seriously. The child's perspective on adults absurd and too often unreasonable behavior is well portrayed.