In trying to describe this film, the words "droll" and "laconic" keep coming to mind, along with the thought of resurrecting Jacques Tati where there's lots of snow. The gags are so innocent and harmless they often seem downright "normal" ...but anybody pulling this stuff in real life risks serious interviewing by the local police.
After listening to Garrison Keillor talk about the Norwegian bachelor farmers around Lake Wobegon for years, this feels very familiar. Odd Horten is what I've always imagined a Norwegian bachelor to be. (Somebody tell Mr. Keillor Odd is a railroad engineer, not a farmer.) Watching this film is like having one of those characters I've heard about spring to life, with a slightly warped sense of humor, a bit of existential angst, a bemused dismissal of social convention, and obvious enjoyment of simple pleasures, all tied up tight in a package that doesn't show much on the outside.
After listening to Garrison Keillor talk about the Norwegian bachelor farmers around Lake Wobegon for years, this feels very familiar. Odd Horten is what I've always imagined a Norwegian bachelor to be. (Somebody tell Mr. Keillor Odd is a railroad engineer, not a farmer.) Watching this film is like having one of those characters I've heard about spring to life, with a slightly warped sense of humor, a bit of existential angst, a bemused dismissal of social convention, and obvious enjoyment of simple pleasures, all tied up tight in a package that doesn't show much on the outside.