Petter Næss Movies

A nameless bachelor finds his life overtaken by a chatty female in Elling director Peter Næss's wry meditation on modern romance. The protagonist (Trond Fausa Aurvåg) is a lethargic man who maintains his harmonious existence by working during the day, and staring at his apartment walls by night. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, the reserved bachelor finds his life invaded by mysterious redhead Marianne (Marian Saastad Ottesen). A talkative woman who seems to be able to speak ad nauseam about any topic that pops into her head, Marianne continues to chatter as her exhausted partner in conversation slowly drifts off into dreamland. When he awakens to find Marianne making a soulful confession about a childhood trauma, his fate is sealed by his genuine sympathy. The following day, Marianne returns with a dozen boxes and a rather substantial yellow dresser. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The emotional dysfunctions of two people suffering from an autistic disorder known as Asperger's syndrome threaten to derail the pair's emerging romance in director Petter Næss' affectionate tale of love among the mentally afflicted. For friendly taxi-driver Donald (Josh Hartnett), patterns and routines are of the utmost importance. In addition to his love for birds and his uncanny ability to process numbers, Donald does his best to give back to fellow Asperger's sufferers by leading an autism support group. When the lovely but intensely complicated Isabelle (Radha Mitchell) shows up at one of Donald's meetings, the good-natured cabbie finds that love can be as painful as it is elating. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Following up on his acclaimed debut Absolute Hangover, Petter Naess spins this feel-good drama about a pair of misfits trying to get along with each other and the outside world. Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) is a neurotic, shy would-be writer who still lives with his mother. That is at least until she dies, and poor Elling is cast of the house by the health department and sent to state institution. While Elling has no experience with the outside world -- though he has a very active interior world -- his roommate Kjell Bjarne is a sex-obsessed hulk mass of a man raring to get out. Initially, these two wildly different guys get along famously. Only when they move into public housing together do cracks develop in their relationship. Elling refuses to leave the apartment or answer the phone, and tries to restrict Kjell-Bjarne's movement as well. When the brawny lothario shacks up with the girl next door, Elling goes ballistic with jealousy. Does Elling accept his lack of control of the world or does he retreat into himself? This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi