NORTH

Five years ago, Jomar (Anders Baasmo Christiansen) had a great girlfriend and a promising future as a professional skier, but then a sporting accident triggered a mental collapse. Now 30, Jomar lives a sad, rudderless existence as a ski lift operator and downer of pills and booze. Then he finds out that he has a five-year-old son. With scant more than a snowmobile, a jug of moonshine, and the clothes on his back, Jomar impetuously takes off on a sublimely comic off-road trip bound for Norway's Far North, hoping to reclaim the life he lost.

Written by Erlend Loe, who wrote last year's Norwegian Oscar® candidate Gone with the Woman, North's charm lies in Jomar and the characters he meets on his journey. Many of them are loners like Jomar, resulting in some unusual and hilarious moments—from simple questions from a kindhearted little girl to a unique way of getting wasted to an odd old man living on an ice lake—that add a distinct texture to Jomar's journey. The most subtle exchanges generate the most dynamic effects, but it is Bassmo Christiansen, one of Norway's most awarded and brightest actors, who connects all of these moments with his everyman appeal.