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Adjø solidaritet (1985)   
Review
Wam &
Vennerød continued to
lament their generation's lost illusions and muddled principles in this
second entry in their so-called Sangen om knuste drømmer trilogy
(which also included Åpen framtid and
Drømmeslottet).
In Adjø Solidaritet, we meet the two middle-aged pals Atle (Svein
Sturla Hungnes) and Eigil (Knut Husebø), who keep disappointing
themselves in both their respective work as a psychiatrist and a theatre
director, and as more or less failed fathers. The theatricality of the
actors combined with the filmmakers' bombastic, hammy scenes make
parts of the film borderline parodic. Wam and Vennerød were idealists
and politically engaged, but they never really had the necessary skill
in directing
actors, the result of which is that any effective, authentic
performances were down to the ability of the individual thespians. There
are not too many examples of such here, with the noble exception of Wenche Foss
and a couple of fun bit parts from Nils Ole Oftebro and Erik Hivju.
Young Thomas Robsahm – whose role is a thematic focal point in the
story – tries to model his Fridtjof after his co-star Torgeir
Schjerven's performance in
Lasse & Geir, but his temperament
and idiosyncrasy come off as contrived. Robsahm would have more success
as a producer later in his career (notably on
Verdens verste menneske).
There are similar problems with a number of the
other supporting performances, not least Jorunn Kjellsby as Astrid and
Julie Wiggen as Mette. This reduces some of the film's thematic
potential to melodramatic posturing. Adjø solidaritet is at its most effective in a
number of dreamlike flashback scenes, where the aforementioned
theatricality comes into its own. And despite all its obvious
shortcomings, Adjø solidaritet does have a richness to it. The
filmmakers' thematic and narrative ambition is commendable, even if the film must be
considered a failure on both of these two aspects. Directors' trademark: Eigil's birthday
party, a fun segment which is like a who-is-who of contemporary Norwegian
actors.
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