Film recommendations week 38

Where: Trondheim Kino

Uproar is set in New Zealand in 1981, when a South African rugby team touring the country resulted in a cultural awakening. Some protested the tour, arguing that it indirectly supported the South African apartheid regime, while supporters of the status quo believed that rugby should not be politicized. In other words, not much has changed.

Tensions in society rise, and divisions grow, but teenager Josh (Julian Dennison) is mostly focused on his own personal problems, like the bullies at school.

It’s the kind of comedy that’s sweet and charming, even when it’s not directly laugh-out-loud funny. Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Deadpool 2) gives an understated performance that will be deeply relatable for anyone who has ever hidden in the library during lunch break, while Rhys Darby brings a lovable goofiness familiar to fans of his role in Flight of the Conchords.

Uproar has clear similarities to Derry Girls – another excellent high school comedy about the daily struggles of a teenager, set against the backdrop of political tension. But writer-directors Hamish Bennett and Paul Middleditch lean harder into the dramatic elements, with an emotional second half that is even more intense after such a low-key first act. The fact that such similar issues still play out today, in Norway as well as around the world, makes it all the more poignant. This is a warm comedy that gradually develops into a powerful drama highlighting a tense political conflict.

Where: Cinemateket

No Other Land is a co-production between Palestine and Norway. The film was selected for the Panorama section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on February 16, 2024. It also won several awards, not only at the Berlin Festival but also at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival (CPH), Visions du Réel (Nyon, Switzerland), and Millennium Docs Against Gravity (Warsaw).

No Other Land is a film directed by a group of activists, two of whom play key roles in the film (activists-journalists Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra).

The film portrays the struggle and activism of Adra and his family, along with Abraham's presence and journalistic efforts, against continuous Israeli attacks on Adra's hometown of Masafer Yatta over a period of four years (up until October 7, 2023).

Where: Streaming

On a warm summer day in Oslo, the dead awaken. Three families find themselves in an incomprehensible chaos as their loved ones return to life. But who are they, and what do they want