De beste går først (2002) User Reviews

Youth Must Be Served

[boblipton · 6/10 · 2 July 2009]

Norway is not much represented in major cinema these days, but this short film turns up occasionally on the short-subject circuit and is, for a one-reeler, quite amusing. The story is quite simple: nine elderly men get together in the backlands to go hiking, as they apparently have for seventy years -- they sing songs like 'The Internationale', long an anthem of socialism -- and find a young woman trapped in a marsh. Making a chain, they get her out and she waves goodbye and goes on her way, while they sink slowly into the earth.

Doubtless there is some symbolic meaning to this piece, but what I find worthwhile about it is the nice photography of the wildlands -- if anything, too pretty, with its crags and sun dappling between trees and the occasional moose -- as well as the good humor with which they accept their doom. It's worth a look if the opportunity arises.

Well, at least it is different.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 22 July 2009]

This is one of six films included in the collection "The World According to Shorts". For the most part, this is not a particularly good set of shorts, as I have seen many others with more memorable content than this rather disappointing DVD.

The film begins with nine old men meeting for an outing in the wilderness of Norway. You most likely assume they are Communists or ex-members of a Marxist union, as they sing songs like "The Internationale" as they march. Soon after beginning their trek, they come upon a young lady who is stuck in swampy water, so the men form a human chain to come to her rescue. The thanks them and leaves...and then the twist.

Overall, a very strange film that looked pretty good but just didn't seem particularly deep or satisfying....unless you really, really hate Communists and like seeing them die. Perhaps this is meant as some sort of metaphor for the death of Soviet Communism or perhaps there is so deeper meaning.

The final song makes it worth checking out

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 28 November 2017]

"De beste går først" or "United We Stand" is a Norwegian 9.5-minute live action short film from 2002, so this one has its 15th anniversary already this year and thanks to the great deal of awards recognition it received, it is still among the biggest career successes for both writer Erlend Loe and director Hans Petter Moland. I would not say it is entirely necessary to understand Norwegian or have subtitles otherwise, but it helps. Still you can also enjoy the watch if you don't understand everything they say as sometimes it becomes clear from the context too. Scandinavians are always a bit into bizarre dark humor and this one here is not an exception. We follow a bunch of senior citizens taking a walk to the local swamps where they find a young girl in danger, but saving her comes at a high cost as we find out. Sure it is not the most captivating or realistic work, but the atmospheric take and the absurdity of it all still make it worth checking out I guess. Nonetheless I must say I liked it a bit more the first time I saw it. Near the end (in the truest sense of the word) we are getting to listen to the Norwegian version of The Internationale and this is of course always a welcome addition no matter which language. Rip to the cast members who are not longer with us anymore today and thanks to them for leaving us this fine little movie. I give it a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out.