Uno (2004)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Aksel Hennie
John Andreas Andersen (co-director)

Guionista:

Aksel Hennie (writer)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

10 septiembre 2004 (Norway)

Género:

Drama

Plot:

Uno is a story from inner-city Oslo about David, a twentyfive-year-old with few prospects for the future...

Plot Keywords:

Gym | Jail Cell | Anabolic Steroid | Gun | Cancer

Premios:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

You don't know what you got, 'til it's gone...

Reparto

Aksel Hennie	...	David
Nicolai Cleve Broch	...	Morten
Bjørn Floberg	...	Jarle
Espen Juul Kristiansen	...	Kjetil
Ahmed Zeyan	...	Khuram
Martin Skaug	...	Lars
listado alfabético del resto del reparto:
Einar Broch	...	Begravelseagent
Aida Frusan	...	Salima
Morten Hennie	...	Far
Gunnar Lien Holsten	...	Policeman 2
Jørgen Langhelle	...	Police officer
Anne Moen	...	Mona's Friend
Liv Bernhoft Osa	...	Mona
Bibi Razia	...	Khuram's Mother
Khawar Gomi Sadiq	...	Ali

Duración:

103 min

País:

Norway

Idioma:

Noruego

Color:

Color

Clasificación:

Norway:15 | Denmark:15 | Iceland:16

Locaciones de Filmación:

Oslo, Norway

Compañía:

Tordenfilm AS

Trivialidades:

Two weeks after its premiere it had been seen by 150,000 people, an example of its huge success (Norway only has 4.5 million inhabitants).

Errores:

Continuidad: In the scene when David is sitting on the bed after they wrap the dead dog in plastic, his hands are half-covered in blood and his white shirt is perfectly clean. After switching back and forth between David and Morten, his hands are now fully covered in blood, in addition to his shirt being stained on the elbows, even though he has just been sitting on the bed.

Conexiones de Película:

References Goodfellas (1990)

Banda de Sonido:

Uno

You don't know what you got, 'til it's gone...

For the past couple of years, here in Norway, we've been drowned by mediocre Norwegian films...most of them romantic comedies which followed the exact same formula. But among those, there is two films that I enjoyed watching. One of them is "United" (2003) and the other one is "Buddy" (2003), the latter starring Nicolai Cleve Broch and Aksel Hennie in the main roles. "UNO" marks the start of a new wave of Norwegian films. This time Aksel Hennie has written the script and directed the film as well as played the leading part, and we find Cleve Broch once again in an important role together with Hennie. If this is the kind of films we'll see in 'the new wave', then we sure got something to look forward to, because "UNO" is without a second of doubt the best Norwegian film I've seen in years. A powerful and memorable movie-experience that may even be better than our own "Elling" (2001) that was Oscar Academy nominated two years ago.

David (Aksel Hennie) is a 25 year-old who lives in Oslo, at home with his mother, his mentally retarded brother (Espen Juul Kristiansen) and his father who got cancer. But since he is a body-builder, he spends most of his time training together with his best friend Morten (Nicolai Cleve Broch), at the local workout-studio where he also has his job. His life seems to be going just the way it always goes, until one day when his father is being rushed to the hospital and is about die. The same day the police invades the workout-studio, where they find steroids and a illegal gun in one of the wardrobes. Everybody at the studio is being arrested and forced into interrogation at the police station. David knows that he has promised to visit his dying father at the hospital, and he also knows that the steroids and the gun belongs to one of his friends. The only way out of the police station is to give up a name. This choice changes David's life. Suddenly he looses everything he has, and stands all alone in a world that's out to get him. This is definitely not a romantic comedy...this is the harsh reality of Oslo's underworld.

Not since I saw the Brazilian masterpiece "Cidade dé Deus" (2002) at the cinema for the first time, have I been such impressed and blown away as I was when I saw "UNO" a couple of weeks ago. I'm not saying that this film can compete with "Cidade dé Deus", but this is a masterful directing-debut by Aksel Hennie, already an Norwegian classic and very close to movie-perfection.

"UNO" grabbed me from the first second, tightened it's grip as it went on and wouldn't let go until hours after I had walked out of the cinema. Since it's an Norwegian film, it's easier to relate to and involve myself in the characters and the story, off course, but as a Norwegian film it still has something special to offer. I found the story very captivating, and it's turned into pictures through brilliant acting, very good directing and exciting camera-work. The moodfull music should also be mentioned as an important factor. A moving, intense and powerful story about a man who finds himself in a world where the right choices seems to be the wrong for him. So after watching this film, I think you have to be a pretty cold-hearted person to remain untouched.

Aksel Hennie has worked on this film for many years, and you can tell how much it means to him. His impressive work as an director has been mentioned, but it's his excellent and totally believable performance as David that will probably catch most of your attention. He and Nicolai Cleve Broch, who is also doing a good job, plays two roles that's much more challenging than the ones they played in "Buddy" (2003). Over all, this film got a solid cast. Espen Juuls Kristiansen who got Down's Syndrome, is doing a good job as David's brother Kjetil, and Bjørn Floberg is great in his role as the frightening Jarle who's the boss at the workout-studio. But the cast got one notable weakness: Liv Bernhoft Osa who plays David's mother. She falls short, as she doesn't put much emotions into many of the scenes she performs in.

I hope and expect "UNO" to make it to the international audience, and I will, along with Aksel Hennie and Norway be proud of this phenomenal piece of cinema. A punch in the stomach, and the best portrayal of Oslo's underworld since Erik Poppe's "Schpaaa" (1998). It's not perfect, but a very important film with qualities that Norwegian film-makers should take notes of.

9.5 out of 10