The Bothersome Man (2006)

Thanks for the memories!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The Bothersome Man (2006)Of course this is weird. It's a surreal version of dying and heaven (or hell) is a little shack in the middle of nowhere that is a way to get a second chance. At something. Life, maybe.This is a little like the crop of comic serious surreal movies in the last twenty years where you part laugh and part are gasping in appreciation for the reality invented. I'm thinking "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or "Being John Malkovich" or even "Inception." And at first it's just a terrific experience, going with the flow, which is understated in broad expanses of deadpan landscape and people alike. Eventually you adjust to the newness and want a thread of meaning or something to carry it along.And this mostly succeeds most of the time. Which is not quite like a brilliant knock you over film. Jump in and wallow with the main character, who seems to have some kind of free will but within an invisible restraint. I mean, taking a ride back to life for some kind of reappraisal, even if you know it's all a mirage, means maybe being radical and not a bit submissive.Not for this Norwegian. The humor comes and goes, the logic certainly goes more than comes, but the mood, the charm and ease of all the characters is enjoyable, almost heavenly, in a weird not quite coincidental way. I would check this out. I know a lot of people will get bored in the first few minutes because the wry dry humor, the lack of dialog, and even the lack of anything quite happening will drive them batty. But you know if you're not like that, and can get into a "Paris Texas" or "Dead Man" or lightweight Ingmar Bergman sensibility. Try it. I liked it a lot, even if I got a bit restless by the last third.

A man is taken by bus to a stop in the middle of nowhere from whence he is collected and taken to the city and his job as an accountant in an office of other white collar workers, happily eating together at lunchtime and sitting in front of computers during the day. Soon he gets himself a girlfriend and they move in together, decorating their home and having dinner parties and small-talk. All is wonderfully happy and modern but yet something just doesn't seem right.I was recommended this by another IMDb user who I have come to know as quite an intelligent young man and so I decided to go on his advice and give this film a shot. He also advised I come to it with as little knowledge as possible, so beyond his recommendation and basic comments on content, I knew very little about it. I was glad of both this advice and also the recommendation because this film is a great idea that is really well expanded and delivered. On the face of it the film comes over like it is a short film, so simple and concise is its idea and so oddly does it deliver a simple concept, but it is a feature and the 90 minutes goes by quickly and satisfyingly.The film is built on the feeling that there must be more to life than the safe warmth that the majority of us in the Western world are used to and it really nails it in this regard. For the majority of the film we are of course allowed to feel our main character's sense of unease and pain at the lack of passion and spark in life, but this comes in the small moments – the alternative view is not over played to make this more obvious. Instead the "emotionless norm" is presented in a way that is entirely recognisable; interior design and wall colours are the subjects of discussion, bland office work pays for it all – and trust me that as a man in his mid-30's, this is something I know about! It isn't overplayed though – it is normal and familiar and as a result all the more chilling as part of the film.By making the "horror" so very normal and so familiar in its polite banality, the film survives the later twists when things get more extreme and weird – because we are already with it as an idea. It does always feel like a short film though because the idea never really comes to a satisfactory conclusion and those looking for a big reveal or ending will be disappointed – however those fans of short films where the "idea" is the thing rather than the answer will be pleased (as I was). To me the conclusion was fittingly simple because it works well with the idea as this world of the others being a happy place as long as you all go by the rules and don't be an outsider – it also kept me on board that the film made "rebelling" so very reasonable – Andreas was only looking for something a bit deeper, more meaningful than the colour of tiles – and again this is a "rebellion" that many people will be able to relate to as well.The whole film reminded me very much of short films in terms of tone and content but also of some of the rather odd films that the Cohen brothers have made in the last 10 years where the tone is a lot of the story. I really liked the direction and composition here – the film always looks "normal" but by having everything so very clean and lacking in chaos or untidiness, it does contribute to the overall feeling of this world of being passionless and only "happy" on a very superficial level. It is all very well done and I enjoyed its relatable oddness very much – and it is this sense of the familiar that really makes it work very well and at the same time produces the cold horror of it. A really great little film in the mould of a short, very simple but also very cleverly done. Thanks Danny!

First of all, forget all the Christian stuff (heaven, hell, purgatory). You are in Norway.The director intended well to show it is shot in Oslo, it is easy to recognize the places. It is a sharp look at the values that rules the country and at the lack of sentiments and feeling of the Norwegian society.Note that Andreas - does he arrive to Oslo by his own will - does not really has a job, but a place in the society that give him access to "happyness": - an apartment - a convertible - friends from the work place - a girl, who has only interest for kitchens - another girl who cannot say I want but only I may The girls are cruelly described, but again the 1st one is the typical Norwegian "witch" (sorry to use this word, I translate literally from Norwegian) and the second the everyone's girl friend; both are typical characters of the Norwegian society.Andreas has other values, is sensitive and want to make choices: warm chocolate and children.It is deep buried in the cellars of the old buildings of Oslo housing old people; the room at the end of the tunnel is a typical grandma Norwegian kitchen.The soundtrack is Peer Gynt, almost the Norwegian national anthem, adding again to that lost paradise's nostalgia.The final scene is shot at the house of common of Oslo and the people coming out of the building are meant to be the deputies or minister of the country and they tell Andreas that they did everything to make him happy, if I remember correctly, just before expelling him.Although Andreas injures himself to show his feelings,the gore scenes may seem strange here but maybe the director use it to mock the conformity of the Norwegian cinema, as it has been mandatory for the last decade to show very violent scenes in almost every movie.Is the bus also a typical character of the Norwegian society? I wonder because for celebrating the end of the studies , the Norwegian students have "party buses" this ritual marks the entering into the adult life, and Andreas coming from nowhere in a bus to this town. what do you think?

Enjoyed 'Den brysomme mannen' http://ow.ly/PTTp (my wife didn't, so I watched it in bits over a few days.)Reviewers mainly confused - most agree it's allegorical, but not of what; 'Heaven', 'Hell', 'Socialism', 'Capitalism'? That most people don't wish to escape, and it's, essentially, forbidden goes with most of those options.So, presumably you're supposed to project your favourite preoccupation/prejudice/fear onto it. So I'd say it's about an a-epicurean life. A live desaturated of colour, literally in the film, figuratively in the interpretation.