Fatso

October 24, 2008 0 By Fans
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Release Year: 2008

Rating: 5.8/10 (1,759 voted)

Director:
Arild Fröhlich

Stars: Nils Jørgen Kaalstad, Josefin Ljungman, Kyrre Hellum

Writers: Lars Gudmestad, Arild Fröhlich

Cast:

Nils Jørgen Kaalstad

Rino


Josefin Ljungman

Malin


Kyrre Hellum

Fillip


Jenny Skavlan

Synnøve


Arnt Egil Andreassen

Dude #1


Maren Bervell

Kiwi-dama


Anders Baasmo Christiansen

G-Sport employee


Mats Eldøen

Kiwi medarbeider


Cecilie Enersen

Fleshlighten


Marie Gisselbæk

Nina date


Charlotte Grundt

Eksen til Magnus


Ann Eleonora Jørgensen

Dansk prostituer


Petter Kaalstad

Rinos far – Torleif


Per Kjerstad

Magnus


Lisa Loven

Martine

Release Date: 24 October 2008

Filming Locations: Grunerløkka, Oslo, Norway



Did You Know?

Trivia:

Rhino's dad is played by Kaalstad's real dad.



User Review

A fat man fights against himself to attain his right to be horny and happy

Rating: 7/10


I finally saw this film a couple of days ago, having put it off due to
middling reviews and a general lack of buzz. I was shocked to discover
that not only did it work, it worked better than any Norwegian film I
can remember seeing in the last few years. Granted, Norwegian film is
in dire straits at the moment, rehashing dull formulas, making films
out of every best-selling book regardless of how well it suits cinema
or even works as a book. And yet the industry is in love with itself,
regarding these times as some sort of golden age for our business. So
let me just say that most movies chosen to prove that claim are nothing
but mild versions of Fatso, and that if the business wants a flagship,
here it is.

Like most Norwegian movies, the story concerns a sexually arrested man
in an Oslo apartment whose main goal in life is to get laid. But unlike
the cutesy characters usually presented, this guy is a monster. Only
not. We get such uncensored glimpses of his sexual imagination that
even as one laughs, one might also feel uncomfortable by the honesty
with which his mind is presented. Especially since we all know that
deep down we're not as far away from his thought processes as we
imagine. The story is basically a repeat of the cinematic wave that
made 1999 such a banner year for American cinema, exploring the male
psyche and his place in modern society. Sure, not many women would want
to sleep with, or get to know, this obese, inward-looking,
one-track-mind person, but the filmmakers are fully committed to
support his right to be fat, horny and in lust for companionship.

Everything he sees reminds him of sex, sometimes in very concrete ways,
sometimes in more abstract ways and some times his mind wanders into
combinations of childish superhero worship and universal needs. He is a
lonely man who sits in his apartment eating, masturbating and
subconsciously hating himself, until his father rents out a room in his
large apartment to a sexy Swedish girl with issues of her own. Some see
her character as underdeveloped, but we only see her from Rino's point
of view, and there are enough moments of desperation in her story to
suggest that the angst of the movie is universal, regardless of
apparent status, looks and crowd. She doesn't need to be an angel or
insanely smart because all Rino needs is someone, anyone, to see him,
even if it is with disgust in their eyes.

The story takes us through Rino's journey out of his misery, but it
only takes us so far, the filmmakers resisting the temptation to give
us the American miracle-cure. The alterations he makes to his universe
are things most of us could learn from, even if we're not in as deep a
ditch as him. He goes from being an anti-hero to a hero in the
traditional sense, trying anything to achieve his goals, while also
displaying moral ambiguities that makes him tragically human. His
relationship with his best friend is both hilarious and sad, the
metaphors are direct and truthful, the way he sees the world has a
twisted universality to it. Somehow a PERSON has found his way into a
stylized comedy.

At it's core, this is not a movie about getting laid, losing weight,
getting friends, status, cooler clothes or creative success, which are
all goals the movie keeps open throughout. It's about seeing yourself
in others. As he sees the tragedy beneath beautiful surfaces and beauty
and humanity beneath ugly exteriors he keeps developing a sense of
himself. And through discovering the human being in Rino, viewers who
are honest with themselves may see their own lives in a slightly
different light and walk out of the theaters as more of a person.