Institute History
Description
We are pleased to welcome back Joachim Trier to the Festival. His first feature, Reprise, showed at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. With his second feature film, he continues his mastery of subtle, realistic storytelling that explores the complex transition from youth to adult.
Anders is in his early thirties, smart, attractive, and finally sober. Yet in his wake are a string of broken relationships, bad financial decisions, and squandered talent. Today, however, is different. Today Anders has earned a day visit out of rehab, and he is going back to the big city—Oslo. He will see his sister and his old friends and have a job interview. But the pressures of the city and his “duty” to enjoy his youth and be loved may be too much for Anders to handle.
Taking on the challenge of depicting drug addiction and rehabilitation realistically, director Joachim Trier shows tremendous skill and empathy by ditching harsh clichés in this mature film. The strong dialogue, contrasted by Trier’s delicate direction, draws remarkable performances from the cast. Oslo, August 31st is a personal tale that elicits a realism as noble and touching as that of a documentary.