Fantastic!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Within the happenings of a twenty-four hour time period, the saying "what a small world" is perfectly captured by director Erik Poppe in this multi award winning film, Hawii, Oslo. The Norwegian film released in 2004 delivers a thrilling plot with a mix of people crossing each other's paths one way or another. Amongst multitude of events all happening during the sweltering hot 24-hours in Oslo, Poppe utilizes various creative filming techniques and intense, emotion-triggering music to make the viewer remember this day they watch on screen forever.We are introduced to Leon, a man living in an institution, waiting hopefully on his birthday for the arrival of Asa, the lady he promised to marry ten years back. While waiting for her arrival, Leon's brother, in prison for armed robbery, is allowed to go visit and celebrate the day with Leon. Though the prison puts trust in him to visit Leon, he has a secret plan to rob a bank and flee with his brother. As Asa makes her way to reunite with Leon she comes across two young boys, Magne and Mikkel, extremely lost in the world while processing their father's death and about to be separated by the foster care system, who steal her purse. Asa catches Magne, the younger of the two boys, and comes to find the disaster of an apartment and poor conditions the boys have been living in. A little later in the film, the boys' mother, whom recently attempted suicide, appears at the father's funeral because of the notice Magnus leaves her. We also encounter Frode, Milla, and their newborn son Aaron, who has a serious heart defect in need of an expensive surgery. Frode holds on to hope, as Milla has lost hers,and goes on a desperate search for 900,000 kroner to pay for a surgery. Frode unexpectedly crosses paths in a bank with Leon's brother and later in a park with Leon, ending up with the stolen money from Leon's brother's robbery. As extremely chaotic each of the characters lives unravels, each of them interacts with Vidar, a worker at the institution where Leon stays. While Vidar can foresee future events through the dreams he has, he is given insight into each of the people's lives we are following. While conflicted about whether what he knows is a part of reality or just a dream, he runs around Oslo attempting to save the people that might be in danger.From parts of the movie being filmed using a hand-held camera technique to the raw close-up shots on the faces of the actors during moments of pure intensity and emotion, Poppe flawlessly instills the emotion being portrayed on screen within the audience members. The hand-held camera shots made me feels as if I was one with the event occurring on the screen. The close-up shots during extremely important events, from the reunion of Leon and Asa to the tragic death at the end, allow us to relate to the scene as if we were standing right there with the actors. Both of these techniques utilized by Poppe create such an important connection between the film and audience members.To further reflect the emotions shown on screen into the viewers, purposefully selected music complements the climaxes of many scenes. The music takes the place of much of the verbal exchange that would otherwise occur between characters. The replaced verbal interaction by music ultimately causes the thoughts of the actors up to interpretation by the audience member. The music sets up a certain mood that correlates perfectly with the scene that may not have been able to be achieved by solely verbal interaction between characters.With help of the camera techniques and music throughout Hawaii, Oslo, we see the character struggle to accept, uncover, and understand their various realities, as well as the search for the true meaning of sacrifice and acceptance. The way each character deals with either sacrifice or acceptance within the reality they are facing make the viewer realize the complexity of each situation that occurs on screen. While living in complete truth and acceptance of ones reality may seems easy, we are able to see and experience the struggle it really takes through the characters in Hawaii, Oslo.Among the multitude of incredible aspects Poppe's multiple award winning film, Hawaii, Oslo incorporates, the filming techniques to the intense character-audience connection are some of the most influential parts of the film. These aspects allow the chaotic day in Oslo to impact the viewer as if they were standing in the exact scene. Hawaii, Oslo is a film you will want to see, if not for the creatively constructed piece of art Poppe has put together, but to see how small a world could really be.

The film "Hawaii, Oslo" is staged within 24 hours on a hot summer day in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It consists of several stories that are loosely connected to each other, creating a multi-plot.In the beginning of the film, one of the main characters, Vidar, has a dream where his friend (and patient) Leon is hit by an ambulance in an accident. He believes the dream is a premonition, and throughout the film he tries to prevent it from coming true. Whilst doing this, he meets the characters from the other stories portrayed in the film. Among those are two parents trying to cope with their newborn child's serious heart disease, two brothers in desperation after the loss of their father and a man hoping to meet up with his childhood love, several years after their last encounter.Hawaii, Oslo is not the typical romantic movie, but it's still a movie that is mainly about love. It portrays different types of love, such as brotherly love, parental love and romantic love, and shows the sacrifices we are prepared to make for love. All the characters in the movie are faced with difficult choices, and the film follows them in their path towards making their decisions.I really liked this film. The stories were tied together in an original way (especially with the use of the kaleidoscope), the music fit well with the pictures, and the director has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of pressing heat, which intensifies the action. However, I found it hard to decide whether the breaches to the film's realism worked well with the film's stories or not.All in all, I would strongly recommend seeing "Hawaii, Oslo", which is the second film in director Erik Poppe's so-called "Oslo-trilogy", also consisting of the films "Schpaa" ("Bunch of five") and his newest film, "DeUSYNLIGE" ("Troubled water"). These three films all take place in the capital of Norway, and have sacrifice as a major theme. So if you liked "Hawaii, Oslo", you should see "DeUSYNLIGE" as well.

I have to agree with those who were disappointed with this movie.In fact, it was one of the bigger disappointments of many films I've seen at the last SFIFF. I understand, the director (or script writer, for that matter) have the right to borrow from earlier movies and create on the basis of their associations something new, something of their own. But this was just too much. Practically everything that this movie is based on we've already seen. Multiple times - and, made much better, too! (Thinking of "13 Conversations About One Thing", for example.) Unfortunately, this movie said nothing new, and, trying really hard to touch emotionally, only managed to stay clear of actually accomplishing that.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.This movie was - unbelievably - one of the most popular Norwegian films in 2004. It's hard to see why. Full of over-acting and feeling', it's hard to keep your dinner down at times. Sometimes there's a message in there, along the lines that if you just work hard enough, believe hard enough, everything will be all right. But maybe not always... Sprinkled with a solid spoonful of awful magic realism, it's not easy to see what side the author is on (hard science or Coelho-style stupidity), especially in the story of the couple with an infant suffering from some fatal heart disease. But at least the director gives it slowly away, by portraying the doctor looking awful and unshaven, and even bare chested underneath his white coat. The level-headed mother who at first is trying to get to grip with the reality, finally comes around and agrees to try the far-fetched attempt of going to the US to try to save the baby. The other stories are pretty idiotic and unbelievable, and only feeble people will find this a good movie. Not that there's anything wrong with trying to tell people that there's always hope, but it does matter how you try to do it. This movie fails spectacularly. Stay away at all cost.Rating: 3/10 (because the competition at the bottom is pretty steep)