大象传媒

Creativity is fuelled by emotional turmoil and a touch of madness according to Norwegian drama Reprise. Anders Danielsen Lie and Espen Klouman-H酶iner play lifelong buddies and aspiring writers who reach for the brass ring and risk falling flat on their faces. The draw isn't so much in watching them strive, but in glimpsing their daydreams of fame. Within these flights of fancy director Joachim Trier neatly encapsulates that take-on-the-world optimism of unsullied youth.

Trier flicks through elaborate visions of 'what could be' as Phillip and Erik stuff their manuscripts into a post box. It's a vibrant introduction, a live-action scrapbook of future memories complete with wry voiceover. We're told that "cult status" beckons - because mainstream celebrity is for losers - and what's a writer without some tragedy to mine from? Just as Phillip receives news that his book will be published, Trier cuts to him brooding in a sanatorium where his "obsessive" love for rock chick Kari (Viktoria Winge) is driving him to distraction.

"STRIKING PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG BRAT"

Phillip's push-and-pull romance with Kari bristles with intrigue, even if she's just a mirror to his self-obsession. Later on, however, his endless moping grows a tad irksome. Suddenly Erik, who's initially bland, becomes more engaging. He concludes that long-term relationships sap the creative drive, so he opts to ditch his girlfriend. Still, this immature cad manages to rouse empathy because he struggles to do the deed, and since he's yet to be published, the stakes for him feel higher. In both cases, whenever the burden of 'life experience' gets too heavy, Trier justifies the boys' hardships with a bright and breezy detour through would-be glories. Altogether he crafts a striking portrait of the artist as a young brat, with the leads showing enough sensitivity to carry it off. Their shared journey mightn't be profoundly moving, but it's a trip in more ways than one.

In Norwegian with English subtitles.

Reprise is out in the UK on 7th September 2007.