On the latest episode of the podcast, we delve into one of the best films of the year, Another Round, and the best film of the last decade, Oslo, August 31st, and their depiction on men’s mental health and addiction.
This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe.
Another Round (2020)
“Another Round, or as my friend, fellow film critic Andrew Pope, calls it “Thomas Vinterberg’s Are Men OK?.” The answer this film gives is, very firmly, no. The four main characters, all school teachers, play out what they call a ‘social experiment’ — maintain a constant 0.05% blood-alcohol content and see if it improves their lives — which is really a very thinly veiled cry for help. Vinterberg’s film is funny and even contains some slapstick bits, like Mads Mikkelsen walking straight into a wall. But it’s also a deeply empathetic portrait of masculinity in crisis and how alcohol, while sometimes joyous, can become an unhealthy outlet for depression and pain. And what’s more, Mikkelsen gives a top form performance featuring everything from gentle crying to jazz ballet.” – Orla Smith
Thank you Andrew for inspiring the title of this episode
Oslo, August 31st (2011)
Joachim Trier’s brilliant and moving Oslo August 31st is as much about its protagonist — the over-educated, over-privileged, recovering heroin addict Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) — as it is about his generation and his city. Anders is our window into the city, and as a former drug dealer, he was, in the words of his former friend, “the best connected guy in Oslo” — although he spends the film feeling like the most disconnected one. When he returns to the city for one day in August, it’s from a ten-month exile in rehab. The occasion is a job interview, but he also uses the opportunity to catch up with old friends and family, in an effort to either start again or to say goodbye — he hasn’t quite decided which, having attempted suicide that morning, but changing his mind. We wait with baited breath to see which way it will go. – Alex Heeney
Read the rest of Alex’s essay on the film .
Show notes for Another Round and Oslo, August 31st podcast
- Oslo, August 31st was our best film of the decade. Check out our other 49 selections here.
- Mads Mikkelsen’s performance in Another Round was one of our favourites at TIFF this year. Find out why here.
- Several critics in our best films at TIFF ’20 critics survey selected Another Round. See their choices.
- Read Orla’s interview with Thomas Vinterberg on The Film Stage
- Read Alex’s interview with Anders Danielsen Lie about his role in 22 July
- Read Alex’s essay “There is a world elsewhere: exile in Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st and Louder Than Bombs“
- Read our special issue on Louder Than Bombs, which includes a review and interviews with director Joachim Trier and cinematographer Jakob Ihre.
- Listen to our episode Dead Mothers, featuring Trier’s Louder Than Bombs
Where to Watch
- Another Round will be available on VOD on December 18th in Canada and the US.
- Oslo, August 31st is available on VOD, and is streaming on Kanopy in Canada.
