Den brysomme mannen

Forgot to blog the Norwegian movie I saw last week, Den brysomme mannen (2006, The Bothersome Man). Trond Fausa Aurvåg, whom I enjoyed in "Tatt af kvinnan" at the Nordic Film Festival this year, plays a man to whom things happen which he cannot explain.

He gets off the bus in the wilderness, but is expected. He is given an apartment, and a "job", which requires putting lots of numbers into a machine. Everyone works in nice offices and has nice homes with designer furniture. They have parties, and he ends up with a girlfriend who does
interior design.

He is always slightly puzzled and bumbling along, until he overhears a guy in the men's room talking about chocolate. He follows the guy home, eventually entering his apartment and discovering that he has a crack in the wall from which nice music and good smells are coming.

The film is full of bizarre scenes (many filmed in Iceland) and a harsh criticism of the Scandinavian social state that takes care of everything, and even if you cut off your finger or throw yourself in front of a train, the men in white suits show up, whisk you away, and in no time you are good as new.

Not much chance this one will make the normal film circuit, but definitely worth seeing.