Un Certain Regard: “O’Horten” by Bent Hamer

The Un Certain Regard section is featuring Norwegian director Bent Hamer’s new film O’Horten today. Hamer has been acclaimed in the past for Factotum (2005), Kitchen Stories (2003), and Eggs (1995), the latter two having won FIPRESCI International Federation of Film Critics awards.

After forty years of loyal service as a train driver, 67-year-old Odd Horten is forced to retire. His solitary, orderly life is soon interrupted by absurd adventures involving strange encounters, a new dog, and… perhaps the reappearance of a love from the past.

Greeting the audience at the screening, director Bent Hamer said he was “very touched, very nervous, and also very happy” and that he hopes “this journey into the Nordic winter night will be enjoyed by the viewers, even those who live on the French Riviera.” (laughter)