Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

JoeKulik Erik Poppe's Hawaii, Oslo (2004) is a very advanced, and very sophisticated example of Cinematic Art. In fact, it is one of the very best films that I have ever viewed.The technical side of the film, the cinematography, the editing, and the lighting is quite remarkable. It all goes not only to make this film very visually beautiful, but is done in a way to effectively interface with the characters, and the storyline itself, as to enhance the dramatic qualities of the film as well.The character selection, and the storyline is very complex, and thought provoking. The storyline involves the lives of a small number of people in Oslo, Norway, and the storyline spans just one calendar day. But in the course of that day, we see this group of people, many of whom never even knew each other before this day began, forming new relationships, ending other relationships, and renewing yet other relationships. All this happens in a spatial / temporal matrix where the characters in this group cross paths, both literally and figuratively speaking, through the course of the day. The storyline does consist of a good dose of "coincidence", some of which does strain credulity . Yet Poppe is even able to make the most unlikely "coincidences" in this storyline believable through a well written, well thought out screenplay, effective dramatic performances by the whole cast, and with effective direction.Overall, in this film Erik Poppe displays a very deep and complex artistic vision, an artistic vision that he quite effectively brings to a tangible realization in a remarkable display of filmmaking ability.20 Stars !!!

Cinish Narayanan Hawaii,Oslo - Norwegian The best movie I have seen this year so far. This one was a very special , a very unique ethereal experience. I can feel my head cool and relaxed due to the blood flowing inside I guess. The movie was at the same intriguing , spiritual , hopeful , emotional.The script has as much content to extract five six movies out and I am surprised I don't see many awards linked to this movie on the DVD cover. It is about people placed in very very delicate situations and then things turning over magically. There is a father whose new-born son would die in a few hours as he is incapable of sustaining without the umbilical chord.The solution is to create an umbilical chord and fix back and the doctors have written off as impossible. The father does not give up and holds the straw of a private clinic operation at the huge cost of 900,000 Kronas that he cannot manage and he sells off everything and is about to attempt a bank robbery when another character in the movie robs the bank just before.The most joyous moment for me was when he sits dejected and one of the robber brothers, who runs away from the robbery .... edited to not reveal one of the many suspenses that the movie offers There is Leon who runs whenever he is not sure what to do next. The first scene of the movie is a dream that Jiddar(Leon's friend) sees and whatever he sees tends to be true. So he gets worried and tries to prevent the mishaps. The story goes through various situations where incident after incident, things turn positive and starts to move more and more away from the dream until the end when the first scene is repeated as it is. The movie is brilliantly engineered and has a lot of beauty to it. Lot of troubled lives trapped in cities. I would think that lot of the trouble would go off if people live together. A lady takes pills to suicide and is saved by a note message that one of her sons who has not seen each her in eleven years sends through a paper-girl. There is the plot of the robber brother who is given parole to meet Leon on his birthday.I started off by seeing this as a sweet gesture where as quickly a deep plan unfolds. The movie is rich. In story , in emotion , in acting , in direction - perfect control and an awesome awesome ride.

isenje The film "Hawaii, Oslo" is staged within 24 hours on a hot summer day in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It consists of several stories that are loosely connected to each other, creating a multi-plot.In the beginning of the film, one of the main characters, Vidar, has a dream where his friend (and patient) Leon is hit by an ambulance in an accident. He believes the dream is a premonition, and throughout the film he tries to prevent it from coming true. Whilst doing this, he meets the characters from the other stories portrayed in the film. Among those are two parents trying to cope with their newborn child's serious heart disease, two brothers in desperation after the loss of their father and a man hoping to meet up with his childhood love, several years after their last encounter.Hawaii, Oslo is not the typical romantic movie, but it's still a movie that is mainly about love. It portrays different types of love, such as brotherly love, parental love and romantic love, and shows the sacrifices we are prepared to make for love. All the characters in the movie are faced with difficult choices, and the film follows them in their path towards making their decisions.I really liked this film. The stories were tied together in an original way (especially with the use of the kaleidoscope), the music fit well with the pictures, and the director has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of pressing heat, which intensifies the action. However, I found it hard to decide whether the breaches to the film's realism worked well with the film's stories or not.All in all, I would strongly recommend seeing "Hawaii, Oslo", which is the second film in director Erik Poppe's so-called "Oslo-trilogy", also consisting of the films "Schpaa" ("Bunch of five") and his newest film, "DeUSYNLIGE" ("Troubled water"). These three films all take place in the capital of Norway, and have sacrifice as a major theme. So if you liked "Hawaii, Oslo", you should see "DeUSYNLIGE" as well.

sojiquex Hawaii, Oslo is a story about the fear of being alone and the struggle to find someone to love. Set in present day Oslo, Erik Poppe's second film tells three different stories that intertwine. First is the story of Leon, an institutionalized kleptomaniac who is celebrating his 25th birthday. He is waiting for Åsa, a longtime friend and soon to be fiancé if they carry out their pact to marry each other if they are both single at 25. The plan becomes more complicated when his imprisoned brother, Trygve, comes with plans to escape the guard watching him and move to Hawaii with Leon. Leon is unwillingly taken on a journey through the streets of Oslo which seem to be taking him farther and farther from Åsa.Next, we meet Mikkel and Magne, brothers who are living on their own after the recent death of their father. Mikkel fears separation from his brother if they enter into state care and acts hostile towards two social workers who take them to see their father's funeral. He is also hostile towards his mother, who has not seen her boys in over ten years. She is introduced in the film with a failed suicide attempt, but finds meaning in life when notified of her children's' father's death by Magne. Her battle to become the boys' mother will not be easy as Mikkel and Magne run away to avoid separation in foster homes.Frode and Mille are the last couple we meet in the film and are the happy parents of a newly-born boy. Their joy over parenthood is destroyed, however, as they learn that their child has a rare heart condition and most likely will not survive for more than a week. Only one hospital in the world has ever fixed this kind of defect, and the operation will cost 900,000 kroner (about $155,000), far more than the couple's assets. Frode will stop at nothing to raise the necessary funds for the operation while Mille gives up on hope for a cure. Their relationship understandably becomes strained over the fate of their child.While these three story lines intertwine, they are connected by Vidar, a supervisor at the institution where Leon lives. He has the ability to see the future and past in his dreams and seems to have a platonic love for anyone he encounters. As he bumps into the troubled characters of the film, he uses his visions to prepare them for the future and comfort them about the past.The film centers on the characters' struggle to find love in their life and the fear of losing the love or fallacy of love they already have. The characters are beautifully portrayed in this aspect, and their fears and hopes seem real. Nothing is overplayed or romanticized and the stories create a fear for the worst in the viewer. Leon is driven by the memory of Åsa and is determined to reach her if she shows up. He is also haunted by the fear that she has forgotten him and that he will never see her again. Meanwhile, Frode fears losing his child and will do anything to assure a long and healthy life for the boy. He sells all his assets, including a guitar once owned by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, but still comes up short in his quest for 900,000 kroner. With the almost certain death of his child approaching, he must act quickly if he wants to save both the boy and his relationship with his wife. At first glance, Mikkel may appear to dislike his brother, often berating and abusing him. However, this is a sign of love as Mikkel fears losing Magne and only wants to control him to keep him close. He fears his mother does not actually love them as she attempts to become their guardian once again. We see this is not true though, for she seems to need them to carry on with her life. There are some other minor story lines about love including an ambulance worker who falls for the boys' mother after saving her and the love Trygve feels for Leon.The movie also has religious and spiritual themes. Vidar uses his visions to guide and comfort the other characters and is seen as a guardian angel or even as a Jesus-like image. Early in the film, he quotes Jesus in order to stop a patient from harming Leon, saying, "Whatever you do to Leon, you also do to me." He also seems to shed feathers in several scenes and Leon even calls him his guardian angel while holding one of these feathers. There is a great scene later in the movie when we learn that another recurring character is "not who she says she is," but presumably an angel as well. These two divine figures interfere with what appears to be the fate of the characters to be alone and are a driving force for change in the lives of those around them. I did not find this theme particularly compelling but thought it was well done. Poppe presents the divine figures in a very subtle way, not making the movie about them but using them to progress the story. I also think that religious audiences will be more interested in this aspect of the film than I was.Despite these triumphs, the film does have its drawbacks. The plot takes a long time to set up and the slow nature of the beginning can take viewers out of the story. The film is not particularly unique and has nothing new to say. The ending was especially predictable and turned me off a bit. However, Hawaii, Oslo was fun to watch and really involves the viewer. The experiences in the film are ones that everyone can connect to and sympathize with, and the story, driven by many great performances, is engrossing once it takes off.7/10