Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Reprise (2006)--4/5

As the DVD insert-copy promises, Joachim Trier's "Reprise" is indebted to the French New Wave. The Godard-like narrator knows--and controls--all and the central relationships have a kinship with those in Truffaut's "Jules et Jim." But it has an inviting conventionality--exemplified by an empathetic score--not usually present in the films of those two.

As the title suggests, "Reprise" concerns itself with dualities, copies, and restarts. The film opens with Norwegian friends Phillip and Erik posting their first novels to publishers. Phillip finds success, which leads to a mental breakdown. Later, after likely fictionalizing Phillip's tragedies, Erik has a new book published. It's met with middling reviews.

The narrator makes it clear from the beginning that what is seen is one of the more destructive of possible outcomes. After the first drafts are mailed, he spins out the two-minute tale of what "could have" happened. This inventive flash-forward is completely filmed and is seen in black-and-white.

Similarly, flashbacks are living and have a Wikipedia Effect. Friends of Phillip and Eric are fleshed out in stories that would be told over drinks. Trier acknowledges the unrealistic tidiness of this plot element by staging one such flashback at a chaotic punk show. Yes, it's convenient that all of the main characters are there. Titles point them out, but they can be seen only as blurs.

Phillip meets Kari at one such show. For awhile, she's the cutest Norwegian pixie girlfriend possible. Early in the relationship, they travel to Paris and fall in love. Phillip's obsession with her and feelings of inadequacy help release his psychosis.

After a long hospital stay, Phillip tentatively reconnects with Kari. In the most moving sequence of "Reprise," they travel back to France. As a pale shadow of his former self, Phillip insists that they stay in the same hotel and visit the same sights. He even coerces Kari into posing exactly as she did in some now-lost photographs (seized from his house by his mother). This is when the score swells so effectively, as Kari fights down her dread at the situation.

Rather than going down a more likely path, the narrator appeases and steers the story towards a happier conclusion. He is sure to remind us that it's arbitrary. Any one of an infinite number of outcomes could take its place.

A still from "Trainspotting 2: The Norwegian Years"

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