Oslo, August 31st
Strand Releasing | Release Date: May 25, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeTy BurrAug 30, 2012
The surface of Oslo, August 31st is as cool and crystalline as a Scandinavian lake, but at its core is a benevolence for the life we all share and tears for the man who can no longer share in it. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 29, 2012
Oslo, August 31st is quietly, profoundly, one of the most observant and sympathetic films I've seen. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 1, 2012
Oslo is an example of strong, confident filmmaking in which nothing is miscalculated or out of place. Anchored by a devastating performance by Anders Danielsen Lie, this portrait of existential despair is beautifully made without being self-conscious about its art. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumMay 23, 2012
Trier's compassion for what it takes to survive, mixed with the love he bestows on Oslo, is rewardingly profound. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 19, 2012
Although it can be harrowing and disturbing, Joachim Trier's film -- and Lie's performance -- are so masterful that the movie seems more like a searing portrait of self-discovery and realization, with the understanding that not everything you learn about yourself will be pleasant. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 24, 2012
It's a marvelously constructed personal journey, both wrenching and bittersweet, whose emotional ripple effects stay with you for days and weeks afterward. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanAug 10, 2012
Trier's all in a calendar-day conceit gives Oslo, August 31a clean, clear structure, and yet it doesn't hem it in. Read full review
88
New York PostV.A. MusettoMay 25, 2012
Despite its themes, Oslo, August 31st is an exhilarating film, with impeccable direction and pitch-perfect performances that make the bleakness worthwhile. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineEla BittencourtMay 21, 2012
The evocation of things ending suffuses the film with melancholy, as Anders increasingly becomes an observant rather than a participant in his own life. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn LevyAug 30, 2012
The slowness and stillness in the film are, actually, a slow boil, and in Lie's taciturnity there is pain and even horror. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasMay 23, 2012
Trier doesn't allow the bleakness of the material to swamp the film in a miserablist tone, but he doesn't hold back, either, in revealing every hairline crack in Lie's fragile psyche. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 24, 2012
Trier's voice and vision, are thrillingly unique. His ever-searching camera, which never stops moving, takes us into places we've never been, know too well and won't soon forget. Read full review
80
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonMay 22, 2012
Matching the precision of the film's title, remembrances of things past-whether destructive or salutary, quickly mentioned or dilated upon-are shaped by just enough exacting detail. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMay 22, 2012
Organizing the mercurial emotions and tics is director Joachim Trier, making good on the promise of his 2006 feature debut, the lit-related drama Reprise. This one's even better-it's about the honesty that often takes root in survivors, a rarely explored subject-but Oslo, August 31st is not an easy film. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon WiseMay 21, 2012
Talented Norwegian Joachim Trier - distant cousin to the better-known (and Danish) Lars - delivers a wonderful, melancholy character piece that's funny and tender, and as fresh as a breath of Oslo sea air. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 21, 2012
Crosses the blood-brain barrier like … like … whatever the drug is, I haven't tried it, thank God. The movie eats into your mind - ­slowly. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 21, 2012
An intelligent and resonant work from Norwegian director Joachim Trier, a movie that yields up its meanings and implications slowly. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 16, 2012
Oslo, August 31st builds to an unforgettable climax, a bravura sequence that starts at a party, crawls through a variety of nightclubs and raves, and ends on a note of utterly surprising lyricism. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJul 27, 2012
As it winds down to its quiet, haunting finale, Oslo, August 31st illustrates how all of us, even the most damaged and broken people, have a purpose to fulfill. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 21, 2012
The impressive thing that Oslo, August 31st does is that it somehow relates what Anders is going through to the city of Oslo in general. Anders is not a metaphor for Oslo - that would be cheap and silly. Rather, he is just one more story in the naked city, and we see him against the backdrop of other people, having quite different lives. Read full review
70
NPRMark JenkinsMay 29, 2012
The movie falls somewhere between the austere and the playful. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 24, 2012
Mr. Trier and Mr. Lie - a quiet, recessive but nonetheless magnetically self-assured screen presence - emphasize Anders's individuality above all. Oslo, August 31st has the satisfying gravity of specific experience, and also, true to its title, a prickly sense of place. Read full review
60
Total FilmPhilip KempMay 21, 2012
Anders Danielsen Lie gives a compelling, deep-etched lead turn, and you'll find yourself drawn in as he searches for a reason to continue living. Read full review
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