recommended

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

"You must be patient," someone says to the protagonist, Maria, about halfway through the movie. Ain't it the truth. I kept waiting for something to happen. A new acquaintance tells her he's working on a project about how birds change their song when they go from the country to the city. This is the most interesting thing that has happened so far, I thought to myself. Ever keep watching a movie you hated all the way to the end just because you couldn't believe what you were watching could be that bad and you just had to see if something, anything was going to salvage it from disaster? Well, I did keep watching and toward the end a few things do finally happen, including a scene the movie had basically been building up to in its effort to show us how clever it is (if I may be permitted to anthropomorphize a movie). Also, some philosophy gets thrown around as does some hanky-panky and some more measurements (in one case to complement the hanky-panky) and we get to hear the birds again. Perhaps, dear fellow film fan, you are more patient than I and when the credits finally begin to roll you will sigh and whisper to your beloved, or to yourself if, sadly, you are alone, "Ah, that was a lovely movie." As for me, my TV menu informs me that Die-hard 2 will be showing this afternoon. I don't know if I will like it, but I do know that I need it.

This movie nicely contrasts the emotional upheaval of the main character's life (divorce, father's illness) with her job...that of precise and careful measurement. The humor is understated and sometimes catches you unawares. The conference she attends in Paris is very funny (and a nice commentary on how seriously we sometimes take ourselves). But the suffering she experiences later provides a nice departure from the earlier humor. And, not to give too much away, the final scene ends with a completely inevitable but completely appropriate joke. You'll have to watch it if you want to know what I mean. Ultimately, I recommend it but be warned that it is a quiet, subtle and in some ways very traditional and slow moving story. I liked it.

I'll readily admit I am a fan of the acclaimed Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer, having especially liked two of his previous films "O'Horten" and "Kitchen Stories". Here again Hamer displays his satirical and droll humor along with his impeccable cinematography. However, this movie will probably appeal to a very thin slice of filmgoers with its extremely slow pacing, and I think you really have to like this kind of tongue-in-cheek humor to enjoy it.Ane Dahl Torp is simply captivating here as Marie, who works for the Norwegian Metrology Service, and has been entrusted to transport the all-important national kilo of Norway to a conference in Paris. There, at the BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures), the kilo will be weighed and re-calibrated, if necessary. Meanwhile her life is filled with troubles as she's going through a divorce, and her father Ernst (Stein Winge) has suffered a severe heart attack.However, once in Paris, she meets Pi, most ably portrayed by Laurent Stocker, who's a professor and scientist, but after difficulties in his life has chosen to get away from it all by being a part-time gardener at BIPM and is conducting a project on birdsong. He's living with his mother who has Alzheimer's. I thought the chemistry between Marie and Pi really was quite believable and worked well.All in all, this film will certainly not appeal to everyone, but for those who like Hamer's droll and satirical humor you may very well end up enjoying this movie as well, with Torp and Stocker's performances adding much here.

This movie does a lot of things right. It's beautiful to look at (especially if you like blue!), in regards to both the cinematography and the settings used. At times is uses visuals really well to further the story, like the shots of her apartment. The actors plays their parts really well, either a product of great casting, or the actors shaping the character. Or both. The story is interesting too, with this fictional department of adjustments that at first seems absurd, but then appear to be a reasonable establishment. It seems to have its science down, when it comes to the whole kilo-business, but manages to keep a healthy distance from the technobabble.The plot is where the problem lies. It is OK, but does not really justify being at the center of a feature length movie. The overall plot is good, and I'm into the "arch" of the characters as well. It has some really funny moments, but maybe too few. Maybe that is the movie's biggest problem? Balancing the absurd and the realistic is obviously difficult, and you have to get both right for the best moments.Check it out if it seems like its up your alley. Bent Hamer is great, and if you like him then you'll like this movie too. Maybe his previous movies just set the bar too high?