SummaryFamily is the most important thing in the world to Kaja. She is an eternal optimist in spite of living with a man who would rather go hunting with the boys, and who refuses to have sex with her because she "isn't particularly attractive" anymore. Whatever. That's life. But when "the perfect couple" moves in next door, Kaja struggles to keep her ... Read More
Directed By:Anne Sewitsky
Written By:Mette M. Bølstad, Anne Sewitsky, Ragnhild Tronvoll
Happy, Happy
Metascore
Mixed or Average
60
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
56% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
39% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Sep 17, 2011
83
Kittelsen is a funny, expansive actress, and director Anne Sewitsky manages the sad-comic tonal shifts with emotional accuracy.
Oct 12, 2011
75
Winner of Sundance's grand jury prize for world cinema, Happy, Happy is a very strange film. Yet I was happy to be watching. It is short and intense enough that it always seems on track, even if the train goes nowhere.
Sep 13, 2011
70
The questionable black-historical shorthand detracts from what is otherwise a well-performed and fitfully amusing film.
Oct 7, 2011
63
Happy, Happy has the makings of a Norwegian "Ice Storm," but it goes out with a whimper.
Oct 13, 2011
60
Director Anne Sewitsky aims for quirky humanism along the lines of Finland's Aki Kaurismaki; she's helped along considerably by Kittelsen's sunny performance, though the film crosses over into Scandinavian kitsch with a series of country-swing interludes sung a capella by a male quartet.
Sep 15, 2011
50
Sets out to puncture the clichéd image of Scandinavians as rosy-cheeked choristers bonded in communal togetherness. But its subversive intentions are ultimately undercut by its lack of nerve, along with a lurking sentimentality.
Sep 23, 2011
38
First-time director Anne Sewitsky may intend Happy, Happy as a Chekhovian chamber piece or romantic bagatelle, but her smugness about racism - and her glib symbolic resolution of the conflicts she raises - suggests an ambition that far outstrips her ability, at least for now.
User score
Generally Favorable
80% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Sep 27, 2011
7
There are four main characters in Happy, Happy because it is about two couples; however, one of them really shines through and becomes such a pleasure to watch that it really does not matter what happens with the plot or any of the other players, she is just stunning. I am talking about Agnes Kittelsen who plays Kaja. She is almost always smiling, even when there are situations when there is nothing to smile about. She exudes positive energy and cannot help it when her actions either makes someone else around her happy or rubs someone else the wrong way. Kaja is married to Eirik (Joachim Rafaelsen) and they appear to live in the middle of nowhere Norway. They not only own their own house, but also the one next door which they rent out to people who are usually looking to get away from the city. A city couple from Denmark does exactly that when they abruptly shift from urban to rural. The new couple next door is Sigve (Henrik Rafaelsen) and Elisabeth (Maibritt Saerens). Since there is not much else to do in the immediate locale, the two couples start sharing dinners together and playing games. These games lead to uncomfortable couple comparisons which is never a good thing. Comparing your relationship to someone elseâ
Production Company:
- Maipo Film
Release Date:Sep 16, 2011
Duration:1 h 25 m
Rating:R
Tagline:any reason not to be?
Awards
Kosmorama, Trondheim Internasjonale Filmfestival
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Amanda Awards, Norway
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Zurich Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
