1001 grams

Accuracy and fixed rules play the main role in the life of Marie (Ane Dahl Torp). As an employee for the Norwegian Weights and Measures Office, her daily life is dominated by sober numbers. Even with the failure of her marriage Marie deals very matter-of-factly and surprisingly calmly. But when a stroke of fate forces her to leave her safe cocoon and travel to Paris for a kilo seminar where the Norwegian reference kilo is recalibrated, Marie's clearly defined world view is shaken. For not only the strong emotions that this very special city exudes, but also the encounter with the fun-loving Pi (Laurent Stocker) awaken in Marie a longing for something she actually thought she had already lost: her own personal happiness.

After his almost crowd-pleasing Christmas film Home for Christmas, Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer returns with 1001 Grams to the very idiosyncratic style that distinguished his earlier films such as Kitchen Stories or O´Horten. Stoic, seemingly frozen miming, a pacing that tends towards zero, and quiet, whimsical humor set the tone here. There's no unnecessary baggage here to distract from the core of the rather simple-minded story. It takes a lot of getting used to, and is probably extremely boring for untrained viewers. But if you love Hamer's earlier films and can relate to his storytelling, you'll discover a warmth and humanity here that show that sometimes it's just the deviation from the norm that turns something conventional into something special.

Admittedly, Hamer doesn't exactly make it easy for his audience to warm up to the story and the sober, seemingly emotionless main character. When Marie doesn't move a muscle in her face while she watches from a distance how her ex-husband once again takes some of his things out of the house they share, then you as a viewer are quite inclined to think that you wouldn't necessarily want to live in a steady partnership with such an undercooled person either. But this impression changes when leading actress Ane Dahl Torp very subtly brings down the protective wall Marie has built around herself. Although the scientist continues to be somewhat brittle until almost the end, it is apparent in small changes in her otherwise motionless facial expressions how much Marie longs to be allowed to surrender to her unfulfilled desires.

1001 Grams is full of wonderful moments. When, for example, the participants in the kilos seminar are allowed to take a look at the French Urkilo from 1889 or Marie almost drives two security officials to despair at the airport, it is simply hard to resist the film's brittle charm. True, despite the inherently pleasant 90-minute running time, there are some noticeable lengths that make this somewhat eccentric work a rather unwieldy affair at times. But it really is worth sitting through these tough moments. Because in the end, 1001 Grams is a very beautiful and life-affirming film that can be warmly recommended to anyone who likes Bent Hamer's earlier films or non-conformist narrated arthouse cinema. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp