Films about choirs have surfaced from time to time during the first decade of the 21st century: 'Huutajat' ('Screaming Men', 2003); 'Les choristes' (2004); 'Så som i himmelen' ('As It Is in Heaven', 2004); 'On the One' (2005) and lately 'Joyful Noise' (2012).
This is a documentary (as with 'Huutajat' above) and it tells the story about a choir - Berlevåg Mannsangforening (Berlevåg male choir association) - their work within the choir in order to improve themselves as singers but even more so aobut their private lives, their relations with family and friends and with the other members of the choir, perhaps in a way to improve themselves as human beings.
It's a both touching and entertaining film, displaying the fact that in spite of different views of life, different experiences and background, they can all work together towards a common goal.
The road towards success or recognition is filled with arguments, rehearsals and discussions, not least political ones.
The political part becomes very obvious when they travel to Russia and confronts both the austere, poor, grey and boring suburbs combined with some military monuments honoring those who fought and died during WWII.
On the same time we get to see the choir and their concerts in very different contexts and also outdoors. The latter sequences not as a part of their regular way of concertizing but more as a way to display the harsch environment where they live in the northern parts of Norway.
The town Berlevåg is situated in Finnmark, a province being situated as far north as you can reach in this beautfiul country (see the link through the name at the top).
We also realize that without the choir and its inner relationships, the lives of the male singers would be very boring and featureless, only having to occupy themselves with the work being the most important one in this town, namely the fish industry.
One of the members in the choir works as a social service employee (head of the social service, if we remember right), having the responsibility for the payments to many of the unemployed choir members.
Some of the singers have though reached the retirement age and more than so, the oldest being over 90 years old!
The film starts of in a rather conventional way but peu à peu, it develops into a drama even if in a low voice style and we get to know the different characters and their opinions and feelings and this is in fact quite interesting.
In English the title is 'Cool and Crazy' and I think this name is very well chosen.
This because we talk both about a natural environment that is cold but also people being - as most Scandinavians - cold and reserved but on the same time displaying a somewhat crazy or unconventional way of living, acting and reacting in face of their mutually shared experiences.
Director: Knut Erik Jensen.
(Photo 1 choir copied from: http://www.nfi.no/barnunge/filmstudieark/bilder/heftig_1.jpg)
This is a documentary (as with 'Huutajat' above) and it tells the story about a choir - Berlevåg Mannsangforening (Berlevåg male choir association) - their work within the choir in order to improve themselves as singers but even more so aobut their private lives, their relations with family and friends and with the other members of the choir, perhaps in a way to improve themselves as human beings.It's a both touching and entertaining film, displaying the fact that in spite of different views of life, different experiences and background, they can all work together towards a common goal.
The road towards success or recognition is filled with arguments, rehearsals and discussions, not least political ones.
The political part becomes very obvious when they travel to Russia and confronts both the austere, poor, grey and boring suburbs combined with some military monuments honoring those who fought and died during WWII.
On the same time we get to see the choir and their concerts in very different contexts and also outdoors. The latter sequences not as a part of their regular way of concertizing but more as a way to display the harsch environment where they live in the northern parts of Norway.
The town Berlevåg is situated in Finnmark, a province being situated as far north as you can reach in this beautfiul country (see the link through the name at the top).We also realize that without the choir and its inner relationships, the lives of the male singers would be very boring and featureless, only having to occupy themselves with the work being the most important one in this town, namely the fish industry.
One of the members in the choir works as a social service employee (head of the social service, if we remember right), having the responsibility for the payments to many of the unemployed choir members.
Some of the singers have though reached the retirement age and more than so, the oldest being over 90 years old!
The film starts of in a rather conventional way but peu à peu, it develops into a drama even if in a low voice style and we get to know the different characters and their opinions and feelings and this is in fact quite interesting.
In English the title is 'Cool and Crazy' and I think this name is very well chosen.This because we talk both about a natural environment that is cold but also people being - as most Scandinavians - cold and reserved but on the same time displaying a somewhat crazy or unconventional way of living, acting and reacting in face of their mutually shared experiences.
Director: Knut Erik Jensen.
(Photo 1 choir copied from: http://www.nfi.no/barnunge/filmstudieark/bilder/heftig_1.jpg)
(Photo 2 in the snow with tailcoats copied from: http://www.filmarkivet.no/upload/image/heftig-og-begeistret2.jpg)
(Photo 3 of the choir in snow copied from: http://www.heftigogbegeistret.no/Korlogo.jpg)
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