Happy, Happy

Director: Anne Sewitsky
Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll

Institute History

  • 2011 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Kaja is an optimistic and easygoing housewife—despite her loneliness and the fact that her husband won’t have sex with her. When Elisabeth and Sigve, who seem like the perfect husband and wife, move in next door, Kaja is thrilled by their sophistication. They’re beautiful, they have an adopted black son, and in their spare time, they sing in a choir. An indiscreet moment between Kaja and Sigve ignites a full-on affair, but just as her sexual liberation comes within reach, the inevitable truths and secrets tumble out—perhaps for the best.
Set in the dead of winter in the middle of nowhere, the locale of Happy, Happy is crucial to balancing the film as both sex comedy and drama. Director Anne Sewitsky allows her skilled actors to shine while dark humor, some flat-out hilarity, and tight storytelling drive this delightful look at the malleability and resilience of adult relationships.

— Kim Yutani

Screening Details

Sundance Film Festival Awards

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