DVD Review: O'Horten (15), Bent Harner (86 mins)

Following his adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s Factotum, Bent Hamer returns with this bittersweet tale of train driver Odd Horten (played with heart-warming precision by Bård Owe) who is facing retirement after 40 years.

The plot is delightful: after accidentally missing his last shift,Horten finds himself wrongly arrested, and driven around Oslo; hilarity ensues. Cinematographically, it doesn’t disappoint either. Norway is a well-chosen backdrop for the opening scene, a snowy landscape of a train’s journey between Oslo and Bergen. Such precision underlines that this is not just another comedy about an old guy retiring. Dark realism underpins it, emphasising our views on our elders, life, and relationships.