Sharply funny and surprisingly moving.
Home screens as part of the Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival 2026, more information about the festival is available here:
https://www.palacenova.com.au/events/hurtigruten-nordic-film-festival-2026
Read the Glam Adelaide story about the festival here: Glam Adelaide – Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival 2026
Anni is in her late 30s, happily working in Oslo as a children’s television presenter, and living her best life. One day she blows up her career live-to-air, and is told to take some time off. So she returns to her home town, and her mother’s house.
Home is the feature directorial debut of Julie Skaufel, who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Miriam Larsen and Magnus Lillemark. Skaufel has cleverly taken this reliable trope of ‘big-city girl comes home to find herself’ and done something slightly different and rather beautiful with it. We have the usual stuff of rediscovered teenage romances, mother and daughter fights, and school day memories. But what runs through this work and lifts it to a different level is its theme of grief. Although this is superficially a rom-com (albeit a slightly dark one), at a fundamental level it is an exquisite threnody.
Starring as Anni is Hanne Skille Reitan who delivers a performance of hilarity and heart-wrenching authenticity. Øyvind Brandtzæg is hilarious and loveable as Anni’s old employer, owner of the town service-station, and part-time Elvis impersonator, Odd-Bjørn. Rounding out this wonderful ensemble cast are Lavrans Haga as Erik, Hermann Sabado as Kjell Rune, and Evy Kasseth Røsten as Anni’s mother, Mette.
Kudos also goes to cinematographer Øystein Moe who has eschewed the easy Norwegian pretty landscapes and delivered shots which give us a small town that could be anywhere, but is firmly planted in Norway. Clearly this was a team effort along with production designer Åsa Nilsson, and editor Arne Vidar Stoltenberg.
The big star of this work is the screenplay, which gives these fine actors brilliant material to work with, and lifts Home out of the just-another-rom-com basket.
This is a must-see in this year’s Nordic Film Festival.
Reviewed by Tracey Korsten
Rating 4.5 out of 5
Distributor: Palace Films
