Directed by:
Bård BreienScreenplay:
Bård BreienCinematography:
Gaute GunnariComposer:
Stein Berge SvendsenCast:
Fridtjov Såheim, Kirsti Eline Torhaug, Henrik Mestad, Marian Saastad Ottesen, Kari Simonsen, Per Schaanning, Kjersti Holmen, Christian Soldal (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
The art of negative thinking is a burlesque drama about Geirr (33), who has become severely handicapped in a traffic accident. In an attempt to show everyone how terrible he feels, he has hit a dead end. Given his isolation, weapons fixation, self medication and limitless bitterness, his girlfriend Ingvild (30) doesn’t know how to handle him any longer. She therefore invites a municipal positivity group to their home. Faced with the threat of a possible break-up with Ingvild, Geirr agrees to join the meeting. Consequently, the stage is set for 24 intense hours at Geirr and Ingvild’s place. Geirr is the only one who refuses to see anything in a positive light. Gradually, he is joined by all the positive group members. Geirr forces everyone through a tunnel of desperation, anguish and hopelessness, before the day dawns and they once again catch sight of light, if only as a faint glimpse of hope. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
This was a mistake. The worst Scandi-movie ever. Unfunny, uninteresting, repulsive, boring with unlikeable characters and weird dialogue. I haven't seen such a bad film in a long time, and it made me downright angry with its existence. 2/10.
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A contradiction, just like the central theme. Tragicomedy as a parallel to the alternating spasmodic positivism and natural negativism is a great idea and the actors can excel in perfectly fitting roles, but somewhat surprisingly, the initially appealing unpredictability gradually started to annoy me. After twenty minutes, I realized that practically anything can happen at any subsequent moment. You enjoy it twice, or three times, but soon every unexpected outburst of emotions seemed like unnecessary hysteria. 70%, rounded down precisely because the final catharsis suffers from these constant changes.
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A bitter tragicomedy about the sad fate of the physically disabled, about obligatory optimism, and about how sometimes things just don't work. The main character is confined to a wheelchair after a car accident and although he doesn't suffer financially thanks to insurance, he is full of bitterness and hatred toward his surroundings. His desperate partner decides to break his lethargy and self-pity with the help of a therapist and her group of patients and bring him back to life. However, throughout the movie, it seems that Geirr rather breaks the painstakingly built cohesion of the group, which actually isn't that cohesive, and beneath its surface, there are smoldering fires and a lot of negative emotions. I expected something in the style of As Good as It Gets with Jack Nicholson, a stylized spectacle full of black humor, but the level of inappropriateness and unfiltered pain caught me off guard. Several scenes are truly powerful, and the film fairly reflects the hopeless situation of the disabled. On the other hand, compared to the course of the film, its culmination is somewhat forcibly reconciliatory. Overall impression: 85%. Although humor appears in several moments, it is the darkest, purely gallows variant.
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Lots of tragedy, lots of black humor, lots of comedy.
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It's a Nordic raw drama with intense emotions that doesn't sugarcoat anything and shows that one should not give up even when facing life's biggest challenges. It took me a very long time to get over the rather wacky style of humor, but I eventually came to like it, as well as the story revolving around a group of people disappointed by twists of fate. (75%)
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