In his 2004 film, Hawaii, Oslo, Norwegian director Erik Poppe and screenplay writer Harald Rosennlow Eeg, explore the idea of the redemptive nature of compassion and love. The film drops the viewer into a kaleidoscope of individuals, set into motion in both the world of dreams and reality. Just as Leon compulsively runs, the movie moves towards a conclusion that seems unchangeable. Yet, individual's choices do change the outcomes. These individual choices reflect love and compassion through the themes of paradise, the guardian angel and the value of individual life. As the film closes, there is no clear resolution. The viewer does not know whether the baby will live, the mother will overcome her depression to raise her children or if Leon will be able to develop his relationship with Asa and live outside of the institution. Yet, the viewer is hopeful because all of the characters witnessing Vidar's death have all experienced the possibilities of healing through love and compassion.
Hawaii and Oslo evoke different ideas of paradise. Hawaii is a physical paradise that juxtaposes Oslo's long winter. Ironically the action takes place during a heat wave when the temperature in Oslo is similar to average temperatures in Hawaii. Oslo reflects the social paradise of a socialist democracy underwritten by great financial resources. Leon is a beneficiary of such as system and the viewer notices how well he is treated while in institutionalized care. Yet, like the heat bothering Vidar, we glimpse the limits of such ideas of paradise. Physical institutions cannot replace humanity. Throughout the film, institutions fail individuals. Socialized medicine cannot support an "ethically irresponsible" unproven operation for the baby, the bank lender cannot go outside the rules of assets and the boys must be separated for foster homes. So, while paradise cannot be built either in socialist Norway or the tropical climate of Hawaii, individuals have the power to save each other.
The idea of the guardian angel weaves itself throughout the story. The guardian angel is idealized in the characters of Vidar and the newspaper delivery girl. They both acknowledge their special roles when Vidar states to the girl, "You aren't who you say you are." In return she states, "Neither are you." Vidar represents the idea of selfless love. He is the one that teaches Leon to love so that in the end Leon can say, "I love you." As Leon picks up the white feather, he directly calls Vidar his guardian angel. Yet, Vidar is ultimately not only his guardian angel, but also the one who sacrifices himself for all the others. With obvious Biblical references, Vidar tells the other male patient that what he does to Leon, he also does to him. The role of the newspaper girl is subtler. She provides compassion. She cares enough to check and the overdosed woman, to sing and provide comfort at the funeral and finally to hug the older boy when no one else can. Neither Vidar, nor the newspaper girl, develop through the story. Yet, they act as catalysts that propel other characters' development. The ambulance driver once again physically saves the overdosed woman, but through Vidar's urging, he goes beyond his job in order to help her become a mother again. Because he has done this, the mother is able to step forward to help her sons. Asa, who saved Leon from the wave machine, looks to Leon to restore her hope in the world. Leon, who was unable to say, "I love you," takes the gift of love from Vidar and is able to embrace Asa. Lastly Frode is able to give hope to his wife after she can no longer save their child through the connection of the umbilical cords. Frode sums up the kaleidoscope of connections when he recalls their first meeting. " I said without me you were a star with no place in the sky, but it's the other way around." In Hawaii, Oslo, Poppe and Eeg emphasize that human connections are much like the kaleidoscope: unpredictable, circular and interdependent.
Throughout the film, there is a disconcerting idea of institutions being responsible for valuing or instilling the value of life. Trygve, unchanged by his prison sentence, rejects love and compassion for self-interest. Trygve's actions set into place the ultimate tragedy of the story, Vidar's self sacrifice. First, when the paramedic attempts to save the woman dying on the bank floor, Trygve kicks the paramedic off of the woman. The resulting wound impairs the ambulance drive's sight leading to the accident. Second, Trygve's pusuit of Leon in search of the money leads to Leon's flight into the dark streets. Trygve never acts with regard to other human life, but belittles life in pursuit of his own false ideals of paradise. Perhaps influenced by its own institutionalized optimism, the prison's negligence in releasing Trygve costs Vidar his life. Similarly, the viewer is disturbed by the value placed upon the infant's life by the hospital system. Frode directly attacks the doctors by asking, "Who gets to decide who lives." The movie challenges us to question whether an infant, the mentally ill or the orphaned are any less valuable than ourselves and why we allow institutions to define who is or who should be saved.
As the characters gather around Vidar's body, the viewer is reminded that these characters keep walking by each other throughout the movie. Just as they are part of a community, we all form a larger community. Leon's poster asks Asa, "do you remember me?." Similarly the older boy's graffiti says, "I am." Hawaii, Oslo is a poignant reminder that our humanity is not simply who we are, but the sum of how we interact with each other. While institutions can improve life, they cannot provide what every individual needs, compassion and love.
Hawaii and Oslo evoke different ideas of paradise. Hawaii is a physical paradise that juxtaposes Oslo's long winter. Ironically the action takes place during a heat wave when the temperature in Oslo is similar to average temperatures in Hawaii. Oslo reflects the social paradise of a socialist democracy underwritten by great financial resources. Leon is a beneficiary of such as system and the viewer notices how well he is treated while in institutionalized care. Yet, like the heat bothering Vidar, we glimpse the limits of such ideas of paradise. Physical institutions cannot replace humanity. Throughout the film, institutions fail individuals. Socialized medicine cannot support an "ethically irresponsible" unproven operation for the baby, the bank lender cannot go outside the rules of assets and the boys must be separated for foster homes. So, while paradise cannot be built either in socialist Norway or the tropical climate of Hawaii, individuals have the power to save each other.
The idea of the guardian angel weaves itself throughout the story. The guardian angel is idealized in the characters of Vidar and the newspaper delivery girl. They both acknowledge their special roles when Vidar states to the girl, "You aren't who you say you are." In return she states, "Neither are you." Vidar represents the idea of selfless love. He is the one that teaches Leon to love so that in the end Leon can say, "I love you." As Leon picks up the white feather, he directly calls Vidar his guardian angel. Yet, Vidar is ultimately not only his guardian angel, but also the one who sacrifices himself for all the others. With obvious Biblical references, Vidar tells the other male patient that what he does to Leon, he also does to him. The role of the newspaper girl is subtler. She provides compassion. She cares enough to check and the overdosed woman, to sing and provide comfort at the funeral and finally to hug the older boy when no one else can. Neither Vidar, nor the newspaper girl, develop through the story. Yet, they act as catalysts that propel other characters' development. The ambulance driver once again physically saves the overdosed woman, but through Vidar's urging, he goes beyond his job in order to help her become a mother again. Because he has done this, the mother is able to step forward to help her sons. Asa, who saved Leon from the wave machine, looks to Leon to restore her hope in the world. Leon, who was unable to say, "I love you," takes the gift of love from Vidar and is able to embrace Asa. Lastly Frode is able to give hope to his wife after she can no longer save their child through the connection of the umbilical cords. Frode sums up the kaleidoscope of connections when he recalls their first meeting. " I said without me you were a star with no place in the sky, but it's the other way around." In Hawaii, Oslo, Poppe and Eeg emphasize that human connections are much like the kaleidoscope: unpredictable, circular and interdependent.
Throughout the film, there is a disconcerting idea of institutions being responsible for valuing or instilling the value of life. Trygve, unchanged by his prison sentence, rejects love and compassion for self-interest. Trygve's actions set into place the ultimate tragedy of the story, Vidar's self sacrifice. First, when the paramedic attempts to save the woman dying on the bank floor, Trygve kicks the paramedic off of the woman. The resulting wound impairs the ambulance drive's sight leading to the accident. Second, Trygve's pusuit of Leon in search of the money leads to Leon's flight into the dark streets. Trygve never acts with regard to other human life, but belittles life in pursuit of his own false ideals of paradise. Perhaps influenced by its own institutionalized optimism, the prison's negligence in releasing Trygve costs Vidar his life. Similarly, the viewer is disturbed by the value placed upon the infant's life by the hospital system. Frode directly attacks the doctors by asking, "Who gets to decide who lives." The movie challenges us to question whether an infant, the mentally ill or the orphaned are any less valuable than ourselves and why we allow institutions to define who is or who should be saved.
As the characters gather around Vidar's body, the viewer is reminded that these characters keep walking by each other throughout the movie. Just as they are part of a community, we all form a larger community. Leon's poster asks Asa, "do you remember me?." Similarly the older boy's graffiti says, "I am." Hawaii, Oslo is a poignant reminder that our humanity is not simply who we are, but the sum of how we interact with each other. While institutions can improve life, they cannot provide what every individual needs, compassion and love.