A few reviews

[dangermouse]

Bothersome Man - 2006 - 7/10
AKA - Den Brysomme Mannen

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Norwegian parable.
Office drone wakes up on bus roaring down oblivion highway.
He is dumped at a shack, then ferried to his new city, new apartment, new job.
Everyone is cheery, friendly, work duties are undemanding, and he lands a girlfriend who is agreeable and willing.
Sound like Paradise to you?  Yeah, well, some types are never happy with their lot.
The new man is dissatisfied.  He cannot pinpoint what his problem is with Eden, but he wants something else.
And he gradually makes everyone around him uncomfortable.
Well thought out visuals, maddening dialogue, and steady pace as the reveal unfolds.

Thanks Virtual for this review. I went out and got the film out from the library. Absolutely stunning film.
Reminded me strongly of CS Lewis' short story "The Great Divorce". There Hell is a grey endless city - life is easy, but empty, just like Oslo the unnamed city in the film. In the Great Divorce there is a bus that goes daily to Heaven. It's a facinating look at our lives now using Heaven and Hell as counterpoints.
The Bothersome Man has just hell, with maybe a whiff of heaven. It's a fantastic deconstruction of materialism and modernity, and the stifling pressure of "Janteloven" (social conformity), particularly in the Scandinvian states. And that's ironically getting worse, not better as we move further away from our Christian roots and more towards atheistic liberalism - opposing ideas are frowned upon, consesus is king. "Everyone is satisfied here." he is told by the government. With the implication "what's wrong with you".
It's a very nice and kind pressure.... but the potrayal of the women and men was spot on - afraid of having an opinion, so just choosing the safe route of discussing houses and sofas without any passion or life.
May resonate less with those not in Scandinavia!