”O’Horten” is written and directed by Bent Hamer, a name which will sound familiar to many film buffs. Three years ago, Hamer directed the U.S. film “Factotum,” an adaptation of a novel by Charles Bukowski, which featured Matt Dillon and Marisa Tomei. “O’Horten,” Hamer’s fifth feature, is more mellow than the poignant “Kitchen Stories,” which has become a staple of contemporary Scandinavian filmmaking.
“O’Horten” explores the familiar, yet never boring, theme of locating a stable platform in one’s existence. For Odd Horten, that platform is – literally as well as figuratively – his job. When he realizes that his future existence is one without fixed timetables or familiar destinations, the ground no longer feels so solid under his feet.
As one has come to expect from Hamer, the film’s depth lies in its direction as much as in its dialogue. Hamer has taken great care to ensure that all parts of the film reflect just how central the railroad is to Horten’s life. In the opening segments, we see that even his small apartment lies in the shadow of the tracks.
The film’s well-rounded production package has not gone unnoticed by U.S. critics, and was described as “aces,” by Variety’s Alissa Simon, who states that the film, “provides a warm and gently humorous divertissement that should be appreciated by niche arthouse auds worldwide.”
The thought that went into the creation of the soundtrack underlines the quality of the film. John Erik Kaada, described by Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as “Norway’s film music guru,” has done an excellent job accentuating the sparse dialogue. His music becomes a voice just as significant as those of the film's characters. As Alexis Madden states in a review for Moving Pictures: “Kaada’s score subtly influences the viewer’s mood, adding the underlying magic from which the audience can feel the film as well as observe it.”
As one would suspect, creating this “underlying magic” was anything but easy. In an exclusive interview, John Erik Kaada commented on the collaborative process of creating this unique soundtrack. “The collaboration between the director and the writer varies from film to film. In some productions, we literally work side by side, while in others, one is left alone to make the music, and the director will leave most decision to the composer. I’m not really sure which method of working I prefer. Somewhere in between would be ideal. Which was the case with O’Horten. The whole process began with me sending a series of snippets and suggestions on a couple of CDs. Then Bent would select what he liked the most, and I would work from there. This was before shooting started. Often I get ideas from reading the script, in which case I will start recording immediately,” the composer said.
Considering Kaada’s success in Norway, one might not expect him to dream about working on a U.S. production in the future. As it turns out, he does. “I am often envious of composers who are able to be overtly pompous, and create music with a huge orchestra. There are not a lot of Norwegian films this would work for – “O’Horten,” would certainly not be one of them. Bent Hamer’s characters are so frail. It is difficult to find the balance between how much music and pomposity one can add. Usually, with these kinds of films, it is the simple things that work best.”