Reprise discoveries

Cast:
Anders Danielsen Lie (Phillip), Espen Klouman-Høiner (Erik), Viktoria Winge (Kari), Henrik Elvestad (Henning), Christian Rubeck (Lars), Odd Magnus Williamson (Morten), Rebekka Karijord (Johanne), Henrik Mestad (Jan Eivind), Pål Stokka (Geir), Sigmund Sæverud (Sten Egil Dahl)

As Erik and Phillip, lifelong friends and aspiring novelists, stand in front of a mailbox clutching their manuscripts, our narrator takes a moment to speculate upon their futures. Surely both books will garner wild acclaim, lead to prolific careers, and inspire revolutions. In actuality, Phillip's is published and Erik's rejected. But it's Phillip who suffers the harsher fate. Overnight success and a budding, but obsessive, romance prove overwhelming, and he suffers a breakdown. Six months later, when he returns from a psychiatric hospital, Phillip tries to put his life back together, and Erik, having adopted a more measured approach to writing, attempts a literary rebound.
Joachim Trier's debut feature is a whimsical, intelligent reflection on friendship and youthful exuberance. His portrait of two young men for whom life and art occupy the same blurry space is full of honesty and carefully observed moments. And while its preoccupations are weighty (love, disappointment, self-doubt), Reprise is buoyed by visual flourish and an infectious energy. Its splashy, self-conscious style--a throwback to the French New Wave - mixes film stocks, delights in cinematic references, and employs flashbacks.

John Nein, FF Sundance 2007