Love is love, and in the second instalment of the charming, disarming Oslo Stories trilogy, from the Norwegian novelist turned film-maker Dag Johan Haugerud, it takes various guises, from medical care to Tinder cruising.
The film follows two friends, a practical urologist, Marianne (Andrea Braein Hovig), and a big-hearted nurse, Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen), as they enter meaningful, if unlikely-to-last, relationships.
Marianne is nudged toward Ole (Thomas Gullestad), a divorced father of two, by her insistent matchmaking chum, Heidi (Marte Engebrigtsen). She is unsure she wants the responsibilities that might come with him, not least because – red flag! – the ex-wife and daughter live next door to his island home.
The free-spirited Tor, who spends nights riding the ferry between Oslo and Nesodden, meets Bjorn (Lars Jacob Holm), a therapist he later treats at the hospital. Their bond is rooted in kindness; this is a film where changing a catheter proves just as intimate as spontaneous sex.
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Unfolding through patient, dialogue-driven scenes, and anchored by two disarming lead actors, Oslo Stories: Love refuses to judge or jeopardise its characters. A nocturnal extramarital hook-up is no more serious than the night swim that precedes it.
The cinematographer Cecilie Semec finds a steady, hypnotic rhythm in Oslo’s ferries gliding across the bay, sparkling clean streets, and unhurried pace of life.
Love offers no tidy resolutions or grand, dramatic swings. There’s nothing as narratively impactful as the heat of the puppy love at the heart of Oslo Stories: Dreams (Sex Love). Even the lightly contrasting personality traits that define the central friendship converge.
Marianne and Tor’s romantic destinies remain open-ended, and the film leaves space for the audience to decide what their connections mean. Haugerud’s understated storytelling thrills to the details, not the destination.
In cinemas from Friday, August 15th
