The Fresh Films Review: Jernanger (2009)

Jernanger (2009)

Directed by:
Pål Jackman

COUNTRY
Norway

GENRE
Drama

INTERNATIONAL TITLE
Shooting the Sun

RUNNING TIME
92 minutes

Produced by:
Maria Ekerhovd
Torleif Hauge

Written by:
Pål Jackman

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Eivind	Bjørn Sundquist	½
Kris	Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen
Ivar	Nils Utsi	½
Pedersen	Hans Petter Hansen	½
Rolvsen	Magne Høyland
Erika	Rikke Westerlund Lie	½
Ung Beatrice	Inga Marja Sarre
Beatrice	Mary Sarre
Ung Eivind	Ailo Gaup

Review

Pål Jackman's first feature since Detektor (2000) is a perceptive, fittingly low-key and – last but not least – brilliantly funny film about a 60-year-old grumbler who detests the sun, his life and most people around him because he left the love of his life behind thirty years ago, having spent the rest of his life regretting his mistake. He curses the world and shoots at the sun from his old rusty boat – the boat in which he was destined to return to his love, but which now serves as a bar for old, lonely souls.

Despite Eivind's lifeless and pessimistic outlook on life, there seems to be a little spark hidden deep inside him. A glimmer of hope materialises now and again through a devil-may-care attitude that alternately annoys and livens up the people around him. Bjørn Sundquist's masterful performance as Eivind, his best since Søndagsengler, is the key to this nuanced character portrait. The interplay between him and his unlikely new pal Kris (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) rekindles the old man's hope and lust for life. Kris mirrors Eivind thirty years ago, and they find a common denominator in the promise of unknown waters – they feel this is a less risky romance than what they have right before them.

The question is whether Eivind's ship has sailed (or rather should have sailed), and whether Kris is able to learn enough about himself to make up his mind. In the meantime, the two find that a simple friendship and an old docked boat can be a satisfactory adventure. The brilliant simplicity of the story combined with Pål Jackman's delicate direction makes Jernanger one of the best Norwegian films of the year.