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O'HORTENMovie Reviews
Drama comedy about an old Scandinavian fellow who finds that sometimes things don't turn out as expected when he misses the departure of a voyage he has taken for 40 years. Cast:Baard Owe, Ghita Nørby, Espen Skjønberg, Henny Moan, Bjørn FlobergDirector:Bent HamerRelease Date:May 22, 2009DVD Release:September 22, 2009From:Sony ClassicsRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 30 min
O'Horten played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Walter Addiego wrote in the San Francsico Chronicle, "The strangeness, humor and melancholy of aging are deftly explored... as soft-spoken and understated as its titular hero." • And Joe Morgenstern called the film, "...a cockeyed journey from regret through comic confusion to a lovely eagerness for new adventures." More Reviews Below...
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "Bent Hamer specializes in dry humor... Jack Nicholson's dyspeptic retiree in 'About Schmidt' would no doubt identify with O'Horten's entertaining pain."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 122 words, 06/05/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT " 'O'horten' is about frustration, patience, kindness and the wildness that lurks in even the calmest hearts. What's odd about that?"(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 682 words, 05/22/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the overall effect is how the film finds a hypnotic, parallel track to the inner rhythms of O'Horten, as he's called.... A quiet, oddly serene movie with a curious soul."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 101 words, 05/22/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a bittersweet whimsy... Odd Horten is played by Baard Owe, a trim, fit man with a neat mustache, who may cause you to think a little of James Stewart..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 06/04/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...charming... a gentle comedy, both funny and melancholy, about a timid soul who discovers the necessity of embracing life in all its absurdity and unlooked-for joy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 05/22/09
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...courtesy of Norwegian writer-director Bent Hamer ('Kitchen Stories'), a filmmaker with a deadpan sense of humour and a gift for metaphor."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 06/05/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...achieves a tone somewhere in the ballpark of Kaurismäki, with Owe's wonderfully stoic face rarely bending as it observes his fellow man in all his small absurdities."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 05/20/09
Paul Ennis, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...entrancing, eccentric... paints a wistful picture of Odd Horten (Baard Owe), a routine-bound train engineer whose retirement after 40 years sends him a little off track."(See all of Paul Ennis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 124 words, 06/04/09
Walter Addiego, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "The material might tempt some filmmakers to wallow in whimsy, but writer-director Bent Hamer holds steady."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 06/12/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a deadpan delight.... A sweet reverie about old age, solitude, companionship, and adventure... Odd Horten is indeed odd, but strangely inspiring, too."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 257 words, 06/12/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a precise, deadpan drama of slapstick existentialism... its metaphors are baldly obvious but its style is oblique... paced with a perfectionist's sense of design."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 06/12/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...missed connections, shifting identities and forgetfulness.... Comparisons to Samuel Beckett, Aki Kaurismaki and Buster Keaton are not out of order."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 334 words, 06/19/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "This yarn about a train conductor whose life goes off track is Nordic to its bones: efficient, humane and droll in small measures."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 287 words, 06/26/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a droll, wistful Norwegian comedy.... It's a film whose pleasures come slowly, as we, like the title character, discover the joys he's missed."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 373 words, 09/19/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...achieves a tone somewhere in the ballpark of Kaurismäki, with Owe's wonderfully stoic face rarely bending as it observes his fellow man in all his small absurdities."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 05/20/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Hamer observes the exact and skewed detail, the oppressive but chimerical Norwegian bleakness, the look, the feel, and the profundity of the everyday."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 06/11/09
Paul Ennis, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...entrancing, eccentric... paints a wistful picture of Odd Horten (Baard Owe), a routine-bound train engineer whose retirement after 40 years sends him a little off track."(See all of Paul Ennis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 124 words, 06/04/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT " 'O'horten' is about frustration, patience, kindness and the wildness that lurks in even the calmest hearts. What's odd about that?"(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 682 words, 05/22/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "Mr. Hamer, a poet of the droll and askew, sends the aptly named Odd on a cockeyed journey from regret through comic confusion to a lovely eagerness for new adventures."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 373 words, 05/22/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...charming... a gentle comedy, both funny and melancholy, about a timid soul who discovers the necessity of embracing life in all its absurdity and unlooked-for joy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 05/22/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Alissa Simon, Daily Variety: GOOD "Although liberally sprinkled with moments of delightful, surreal comedy, Hamer's loosely structured screenplay is also laden with melancholy."(See all of Alissa Simon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 06/10/08
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "In this big-small story, we appreciate that Odd is on a personal quest more harrowing and acute than faced by the common superhero."(See all of Duane Byrge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 326 words, 05/21/08
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...charming... a gentle comedy, both funny and melancholy, about a timid soul who discovers the necessity of embracing life in all its absurdity and unlooked-for joy."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 05/22/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT " 'O'horten' is about frustration, patience, kindness and the wildness that lurks in even the calmest hearts. What's odd about that?"(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 682 words, 05/22/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "Mr. Hamer, a poet of the droll and askew, sends the aptly named Odd on a cockeyed journey from regret through comic confusion to a lovely eagerness for new adventures."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 373 words, 05/22/09
9.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
O'Horten's reviews are separated by an average 9.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
O'Horten (25 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:O'Horten's reviews cover 30.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 8,417 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 337 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 8 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
O'Horten's reviews on average broke 8 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is O'Horten's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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