Thursday, 11 July 2024

VOD: Norwegian Dream (dir: Liev Igor Devold, 2023)

"Haven't you ever wanted to be someone else?"

This sombre Norwegian drama follows young Polish worker Robert as he relocates to a bleak Norwegian fishing port to work at a salmon processing factory in order to support his family, where he falls awkwardly for the boss's son.  The film does not shy away from the harsh working/living conditions, which eventually lead to divisive strike action as a stark comment on emigrant workers and the conditions they face.  Shot in semi-documentary style, mostly in grey wintry Scandinavian half-light, the film is carried by a focused and committed central performance by Hubert Milkowski, and whilst there are a lot of big issues being juggled - displacement, homophobia, workers' rights, familial responsibility - the film tells its story effectively and sympathetically. 
 

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