Uno

Colour, 35 mm
Norway, 2004, 103 min
Section: Norwegian Cinema
Oficiální stránky: www.uno.no

Synopsis

In his directing debut, actor Aksel Hennie, here portraying the hero David, tells a raw tale of a young man who has to come to terms with difficult life challenges. His father is dying of cancer, his brother is afflicted with Down’s syndrome and needs constant care, and his mother is only stagnating, resigned to her fate. Just when David is to organise his father’s funeral, he gets involved in drug deals organised by Pakistanis at the gym where he works. Their extortion is merciless, and David has to face his blackmailers alone after his best friend betrays him on more than one occasion. He hasn’t a chance of defending himself, but he doesn’t give up and, moreover, realises that the most important value in life is a responsible attitude. Today’s Oslo provides the backdrop to this drama; the sense of despair and constant threat is heightened by claustrophobic scenes in constricting interiors, and recurring images of brutal physical assaults.

About the director

Aksel Hennie (b. 1975, Oslo) graduated from acting school in 2001. He appears at various Norwegian theatres (the daily Dagbladet voted him stage talent of 2001) and in film he is known chiefly as an actor (e.g. Hawaii, Oslo), featuring in both shorts and features. He successfully cast himself in the psychologically complex main role in his directing debut Uno.