Aberdeen
Set in Norway and Scotland, Aberdeen is a road movie that is as concerned with the geography of the heart as that of a topographical map. Kaisa (Lena Headey) is an ambitious lawyer who has just celebrated her recent promotion by having dominant sex with a man whose name she has no interest in learning. When her estranged mother, Helen (Charlotte Rampling), whom she hasn't been in contact with for a decade, calls her up to tell her that she is dying of cancer, Kaisa is faced with her mother's request to track down her divorced husband, Tomas (Stellan Skarsgard). A raging drunk, Tomas has been frequenting the pubs of Norway for a number of years, and Kaisa, after some initial hesitation, sets out for Oslo to find him. When she is finally reunited with Tomas, his drunkenness prevents them from being allowed on the flight back to Aberdeen, where her mother is hospitalized. Kaisa and Tomas embark on an overland journey that takes them across Norway and on a ferry to England, with Tomas drinking constantly and Kaisa discovering something that may be love with a self-effacing truck driver (Ian Hart). more..
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Starring: Lena Headey, Stellan Skarsgard, Ian Hart, Charlotte Rampling
It could have done with fewer plot devices, but it is ultimately far more satisfying than countless less ambitious and risky films.
It is difficult to watch, but it's also impossible to take your eyes off the screen. It does not blench at the things that Hollywood routinely blenches at: substance abuse, dying, family dysfunction, love.
It is an uncompromising family tale, one that's dark but lyrical and moving in its rendering of the ties that bind even the most dysfunctional families, despite valiant efforts to destroy them.
A film of rare beauty, lifted by some of the best acting you may see in any film this year.
Skarsgard and Headey deliver perfectly meshed lead performances in a small, beautifully acted film that will make you squirm.
Best Film (Årets norske kinofilm)
Amanda Awards, Norway (2001)
Best Actress
Brussels European Film Festival (2001)
Philip Øgaard
Camerimage (2000)
Best Actor
Chlotrudis Awards (2003)
Hans Petter Moland
Damascus Film Festival (2001)
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