O'Horten - film review
Odd Horten is an unremarkable chap who has been driving a locomotive on Norwegian railways for almost 40 years. A typically unexpressive, reliable, pipe-smoking Scandinavian without much family, few friends, and save for the anchor provided by his work, almost adrift in the world.
Following his retirement dinner, on the eve of his final working day Horten gets into a number of scrapes that cause him to be late and miss his last journey. In retirement he sets about a variety of time-filling activities lacking a core narrative. (A visit to his mother in a care home, buying a new pipe at the tobacconist, dining at his regular restaurant, getting locked in after hours at the sauna/swimming pool.) Just as you begin to wonder where these somewhat random episodes are leading, Horten confronts the fear he has been avoiding all his life, and in a beautifully handled change of tempo, scene and lighting, the possibilities of a new life open up before him.
Essential viewing.