Norwegian director Joachim Trier follows “Reprise,” his 2006 homage to the French New Wave, with another gem, “Oslo, August 31st.” It’s the story of a 34-year-old addict, Anders, who has been clean for 10 months and is just two weeks away from getting out of rehab.
He gets a day to spend in Oslo, during which he plans to visit his sister and some longtime friends, and apply for a writing job at a magazine. His sister doesn’t show, sending her girlfriend instead; he botches his job interview; and when he shows up on the doorstep of his friends and their two young children, the reception is chilly.
And so Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie, a star of “Reprise”) starts returning to old habits — getting drunk at a party, stealing money from guests, buying coke from his one-time drug dealer and bedding random women. By the next day (Aug. 31), Anders’ life is shattered beyond repair.
Despite its themes, “Oslo, August 31st” is an exhilarating film, with impeccable direction and pitch-perfect performances that make the bleakness worthwhile. Trier is a distant cousin of the infamous Lars von Trier (who directed “Melancholia,” the best film of 2011).
Brilliance seems to run in the family.