(Spoilers!) The story tracks one day in the life 34-year-old Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), ending on the date mentioned in the title. Anders is nearing the end of a drug detox program where he has been in attendance for several months. He has been given an evening leave to go for a job interview.
We come to know a lot about Anders and his decision to end it all. On his evening leave, and before his job interview, he goes to see his old friend Thomas who is married with a child and is a professor of literature. The two sit on a park bench and have an intense conversation. It is from this scene that we see how depressed Anders is and realize that, even though Thomas clearly cares for him, there is no future for their returning to their old relationship. If an early scene of an attempted suicide does not warn us of what is on his mind, then Anders citing the quote, "If someone wants to destroy himself, society should allow him to do so," makes it pretty clear. In this conversation Anders wants Thomas to know that if he does commit suicide, then it will have been a willful decision and not simply a mistaken OD.
Anders is fully committed to his depression, making statements like, "I am nothing." In his job interview for editorial assistant to a literary magazine, after holding his own intellectually he preempts the meeting before it is clear that a negative decision is forthcoming. It's almost like he is afraid that he might get the job. Ander's depression is so painfully real that I was left wondering if his depression caused his drug problem or if his drug problem caused his depression--probably a combination.
In one scene Anders walks the streets of Oslo remembering, in a voice-over, his family life from the time he was growing up. This scene is particularly poignant, since we see that Anders came from a good family and was afforded financial and emotional support as a young person. There seems to be some truth in his remarking, "I'm a spoiled brat who f***** up. Nobody needs me."
It's natural to root for Anders to turn the corner, but he thwarts hope at every turn. The woman he loved has moved to New York and, after several calls to her getting her answering machine and no callbacks, that hope is closed off. In a park Anders looks up at the sun coming through a tree, smiles and we think maybe an appreciation of nature will help, but I think Ander's apparent appreciation comes from his knowing that this is the last time he will have this bond with the natural world. His sister avoids an arranged meeting; his parents have had to sell their house in order to support him. So, family support has eroded. Near the end Anders sits down at the piano and plays some bars from a piano sonata. It's impressive to see that Anders Lie can actually play. He is good enough to fake being rusty. After giving a remote hope that maybe music can same him, when he encounters a difficult passage that frustrates him he abandons the piano.
The film is tightly edited--there are no superfluous scenes; the story unfolds in a fluid way as we come to know and understand Anders. The beauty of the movie makes you come to see how Anders sees the world, and why he feels at a deep level that he can't go back, and nor can he go forward. After a suicide the first question anyone asks is why and usually there are no satisfactory answers, but, to its credit, this movie provides some answers in this particular case.
We come to know a lot about Anders and his decision to end it all. On his evening leave, and before his job interview, he goes to see his old friend Thomas who is married with a child and is a professor of literature. The two sit on a park bench and have an intense conversation. It is from this scene that we see how depressed Anders is and realize that, even though Thomas clearly cares for him, there is no future for their returning to their old relationship. If an early scene of an attempted suicide does not warn us of what is on his mind, then Anders citing the quote, "If someone wants to destroy himself, society should allow him to do so," makes it pretty clear. In this conversation Anders wants Thomas to know that if he does commit suicide, then it will have been a willful decision and not simply a mistaken OD.
Anders is fully committed to his depression, making statements like, "I am nothing." In his job interview for editorial assistant to a literary magazine, after holding his own intellectually he preempts the meeting before it is clear that a negative decision is forthcoming. It's almost like he is afraid that he might get the job. Ander's depression is so painfully real that I was left wondering if his depression caused his drug problem or if his drug problem caused his depression--probably a combination.
In one scene Anders walks the streets of Oslo remembering, in a voice-over, his family life from the time he was growing up. This scene is particularly poignant, since we see that Anders came from a good family and was afforded financial and emotional support as a young person. There seems to be some truth in his remarking, "I'm a spoiled brat who f***** up. Nobody needs me."
It's natural to root for Anders to turn the corner, but he thwarts hope at every turn. The woman he loved has moved to New York and, after several calls to her getting her answering machine and no callbacks, that hope is closed off. In a park Anders looks up at the sun coming through a tree, smiles and we think maybe an appreciation of nature will help, but I think Ander's apparent appreciation comes from his knowing that this is the last time he will have this bond with the natural world. His sister avoids an arranged meeting; his parents have had to sell their house in order to support him. So, family support has eroded. Near the end Anders sits down at the piano and plays some bars from a piano sonata. It's impressive to see that Anders Lie can actually play. He is good enough to fake being rusty. After giving a remote hope that maybe music can same him, when he encounters a difficult passage that frustrates him he abandons the piano.
The film is tightly edited--there are no superfluous scenes; the story unfolds in a fluid way as we come to know and understand Anders. The beauty of the movie makes you come to see how Anders sees the world, and why he feels at a deep level that he can't go back, and nor can he go forward. After a suicide the first question anyone asks is why and usually there are no satisfactory answers, but, to its credit, this movie provides some answers in this particular case.