Hello friends –

I’ve got a slightly spooky film just in time for Halloween.  I know, so very un-Colleen-like.  I’ll admit, too, that I was a tad worried when the hubster and I started watching this.  It was after dark, and my writer’s mind was darting hither and yon with what might happen, but, quite thankfully, I talked myself out of being frightened, save when called for, and thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I was rather proud of myself, indeed.  No scary dreams, either, double yum!

Anyway, to the film – Michael Farr (Ciaran Hinds) is a slightly lonely and depressed widower, living in a gorgeous home in a small seaside Irish town with his two children.  He also writes a little on the side and helps out at the annual writers festival.  As the festival gets in full swing, he finds himself aware of a frightening, yet familiar, presence in his home, accompanied by thuds in the dark, knocking on doors, and shadows where there shouldn’t be.

Rather serendipitously, one of the authors under his charge (Iben Hjejle) has written about the appearance of spirits and ghosts, and as their relationship grows more friendly, he decides to relate his increasingly disturbing experiences to her.  Unfortunately, he is perpetually interrupted by a rather boorish and hopelessly arrogant writer (Aidan Quinn) whose sole purpose for appearing at the festival is to declare his love for her. Drat!

Beautifully filmed in an utterly gorgeous setting, it is a great tale of loss, mourning, and hope.  There’s also occasion for laughter and fright, of course.  Truth be told, I screamed once – though, in my defense, it wasn’t terribly loud.  The soundtrack is rather fine, as well.

I’ve got two terrific titles for you today, and a little alliteration, which is always fun.  Both are Norwegian and awfully good.

Buddy follows Kristoffer, a young and carefree billboard hanger who chronicles his everyday life via film.  Nothing is kept from the camera – laughter, the heartache of a recent breakup, and crazy behavior receive equal time.  When he and his friend/roommate Geir decide to jump from a third story window into a dumpster at a local news station, the pair are nearly caught, and Kristoffer loses some video tape in the process.  The station actually likes what they see, forgive his and Geir’s trespassing, and offer them a weekly spot on a popular show. They and their third roommate Stig (who hasn’t left their apartment complex for two years) become local celebrities.  The future looks bright for rising star Kristoffer, but problems ensue when his increasing popularity causes his friends and his relationships with them to suffer.  It’s a great story about true friendship – what it really means to be a Buddy.

Hawaii, Oslo follows the paths of several strangers on the hottest day of the year.  Frode and Milla are overcome with grief that their newborn baby might die.  Two young boys search for their mother after the loss of their dad.  Institutionalized Leon has a date made ten years earlier to meet his childhood sweetheart Asa.   Leon’s brother, Trygve has a weekend leave from prison to visit him on his birthday.  At the center, touching all of their lives, is Vidar, a nurse who can see the future in his sleep, or can he?  It’s a great story about the power of dreams and finding what is most meaningful in life.