Heftig og begeistret (2001)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Knut Erik Jensen

Release Date:

19 January 2001 (Norway)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot Keywords:

Choir | Norway | Singing | Russia | Fishing Village

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Odd Marino Frantzen	...	Director
Einar F.L. Strand	...	1st Tenor
Arne Wensel	...	1st Tenor
Kare Wensel	...	1st Tenor
Arne Blomso	...	1st Tenor
Leif Roger Ananiassen	...	1st Tenor
Eirik Daldorff	...	1st Tenor
Odd-Arne Olsen	...	1st Tenor
Eirik Nilsen	...	1st Tenor
Nils Gronberg	...	1st Tenor
Reidar Strand	...	2nd Tenor
Ragnar Rotnes	...	2nd Tenor
Randulf Antonsen	...	2nd Tenor
Ole Jonny Larsen	...	2nd Tenor
Einar Kristian Straumsne	...	2nd Tenor

Also Known As:

Cool and Crazy (International: English title)
Häftig och begeistrad (Sweden)
Heftig & begeistret (Norway) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

UK:104 min | USA:89 min

Country:

Sweden | Norway

Language:

Norwegian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:A | Sweden:Btl | UK:15

Company:

Barentsfilm AS

Movie Connections:

Featured in Temalørdag: Mandskor og hornmusik (2004) (TV)

Real and beautiful, but flat and without a message. Why was this movie made?

Heftig og Begeistret (Intense and Enthusiastic) is a documentary-like story of a male choir up in Berlevåg in the very northern part of Norway, where the weather is cold and hostile, the days are dark during the winter and the towns are faced with young people moving to the more populated parts in the south of Norway, where the climate is warmer and there are more opportunities.

The most beautiful part of this movie is the humans themselves. The people in the choir, who are aged from 30 to 95, all have unique, colorful lives and are very enjoyable beings. They are characterised by the harsh climate and the recession of the North and have adapted to the way of living required. Throughout the movie, we learn a bit about many people in the choir and we follow them through songs, some events in a church and on the harbour, and in the end, a trip to Murmansk.

The outside environment filmed in the movie is very beautiful and characterised by the Norwegian nature. The scenography is also natural and taken directly from the choir and from the peoples lives that we meet. Thei r livingrooms, the bathroom, the kettle on the oven; there is nothing artificial about this movie, not the people, not the environment, not their music and not their feelings. Everything is as real as can be.

It all loses out though when it comes to giving a story. It is very beautiful and real, but why do we see it? Is it because of the songs? Is it because of the nature? Or is it simply just to see a story about Berlevåg Mens-Choir, about their life and some of the trips they have. The message, if there is any, is that this small society copes with life through such social events like the choir. The choir have kept the people together for many many years.

It is all nice, but being as popular as it has been, seen by almost 200.000 in Norway, there is something wrong. There is no beginning or end to it. Nobody gains or loses anything, nobody reveals any message or tries to convince the audience of that this is good or that life up there is great. Why was this movie made?

I am sorry. It is a nice movie about good people, but compared to the average European, Scandinavian or Norwegian movie - this does not deserve a 9 out of 10. It is closer to 4 out of 10, and that is what I will give it.

If you see this movie in a theater, you should expect the average age on the audience to be around 55-60. It has reported to be consistently high in all theaters. Maybe this is also the reason for it receiving such very high praise in the news and good grades also on the IMDB: It is a movie about elders, for elders. It is a movie of "I regret nothing in my life", and a story saying that living in a small town like Berlevåg, might be a nice life too.