Reprise

This is very much a quirky coming of age film about two initially budding teenage writers. It focusses on the punk/alternative music scene of the time its set in. It's sad and uplifting at different times...a somewhat thoughtful watch. The use of a narrator to explain what may have happened, in different circumstances, I thought was interesting. Yes its worth seeing. I particularly liked the youthful energy felt it in some scenes.

In "Reprise," the two protagonists are Phillip (Lie), and Erik (Klouman-Høiner), are best friends-young, brash, and struggling writers. Together, they deposit their freshly written manuscripts into a mailbox. Joachim Trier flicks through elaborate visions of 'what could be'- a vibrant introduction, a live-action scrapbook of future memories complete with wry voice-over. We're told that "cult status" beckons, because mainstream celebrity is for losers. Then reality sinks in and deals them both a blow: Erik's novel is rejected, while Phillip's is published to great acclaim only for a psychotic break to undo him at the height of his success. Director Joachim Trier, who co-wrote the script with Eskil Vogt, plays with the audience by flipping backward and forward in time. As Phillip and Erik coddle their first manuscripts, Trier speeds forward in time to possible futures. The draw of this film isn't so much in watching them strive, but in glimpsing their daydreams of fame. "Reprise" has a smart and knowing script, inviting the audience for reflection of their own. Joachim Trier neatly encapsulates that take-on-the-world optimism of unsullied youth. "Reprise" is many things at once: a window into mental illness, obsessive love, the uneasy transition from youth to adulthood, and finally the most intriguing aspect of the story line-fraternal competitiveness. The only real problem with the movie is it doesn't entirely establish a genuine, heartfelt interest in the characters for the audience. Both protagonists' grew up idolizing Norway's greatest living writer, who tells one of them his novel is good and shows promise. In the same sense, the movie itself is good and shows promise, but ultimately falls short of truly compelling. I am probably a bit too critical of this film only because I saw "Oslo, August 31st" (2011) first (a magnificent film), which is the follow up to "Reprise."