Out Stealing Horses

Saw this at the Berlinale 2019, where it was part of the official Competition for the golden bear. While not winning the 1st Prize, the jury awarded a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, for Rasmus Videbæk who was responsible for the cinematography. Be that as it may, however, the movie failed to interest me in the protagonists and their behavior. Shots of landscapes, rivers, nature and (of course, given the title) the horses were more interesting than what the actors said and did. So, it could have been a nice watch but that is never my prime reason to see a movie.

In particular, the frequent switching between 1999 and 1948 annoyed me several times. It broke the logic flow in the story line. Luckily, it was clear with every flash back/forward in which time frame we were, due to other actors playing the younger variants. For me it remained unclear from start to finish what it was that the protagonists did tick, and why they did what they did. I cannot imagine that the fatal Cain/Abel scene, where a young boy inadvertently shot his brother, can have such a long term bearing on everyone actions, but what do I know??

Maybe the underlying book is better in explaining the psychology driving these people's actions, but I missed it dearly here. It is even very well possible that the Cain/Abel scene was not so important after all, but that it was the woman he had eyes on but who was in fact courted by his father. I wonder, due to suggestions in that direction in the announcement on the Berlinale website, but I can recall only a single scene from memory to more or less confirm this plot element.

All in all, despite the visual elements to make it a nice watch, I failed to get interested in the story or the psychology of the protagonists. I see hints in various reviews that there is more substance than I could derive from it. Such things can happen during a festival where one sees three of four movies per day.

There are no spoilers in this review.

This magnificent film is based on Per Petterson's novel 'Out Stealing Horses' (Ut Og Stjæle Hester). I discovered this film at the 2019 Scandinavian Film Festival in Australia. It is mesmerising, poetic, and the cinematography is truely breathtaking. The soundtrack is both haunting and unique. Each scene was an exercise in detail. Waterfalls, owls, rainstorms, wind, moss, rivers, trees, and horses in the Norwegian forest provided a rich tapestry of backdrops which were seamlessly integrated into the story.

The clever use of seasons made the story's timeline easy to follow. The major storyline took place in the summer of 1948, and the flashbacks (from the main character, Trond) were from the winter of 1999. There was also one short scene that took place during the German occupation of Norway, and another brief scene from around 1957.

This film is both visual and script driven. The acting from every character was flawless. It goes without saying that the performances from both Stellan Skarsgård (the 67 year old Trond) and Tobias Santelmann (Trond's father) were brilliant - as always from these two seasoned actors. The real stunner, however, was Jon Ranes playing the 15 year old Trond who did a lot of the heavy lifting for this film. He was amazing and really brought life to the character and the story. I think great things await Ranes as an actor going forward.

The movie is about a 67 year old Norwegian man (Trond) reflecting back on a summer he spent with his father when he was 15 years old. The movie navigates multiple issues. These include how traumatic events early in ones life can affect a person, coming of age, father/son relationships & rivalries, loss, overcoming life's obstacles, and abandonment were all explored. If you love beautiful and deeply meaningful movies - this one should not be missed. It is really something special.

What a amazing talent of working ,beautiful piece of work a unrest soul coming out from Director. Very deep soulful and strong acting.Very emotional movie.

Full of fascinating...ographies and curious adolescent...chologies but as bland as wallpaper paste mixed with plain flour, only curiosity is why they've stolen your sleep sheep and replaced them with this - same effect - lights out!

I did not have expectations to the movie, as I started reading the book once, and put it down after reading not too long, finding it not to my taste. It seems I should have continued reading. The movie is in any case rare in story and filming. Soft, thrilling, surprising, intriguing worth watching. A beautiful movie to watch. Reminds me of movies like the cider house rules, the emigrants (innvandrarna/utvandrarna) and Pelle Erobreren.