Discovering he has only six days left to live, Oskar plans to reconcile with his brother – although the last he knew his brother was in New Jersey, a long way from Norway. Determined to have closure before he dies, Oskar spends his remaining days preparing to use a massive tuba structure to broadcast across the Atlantic. In the meantime, he is joined by an Angel of Death – a religious volunteer who will stay with him until he dies; and spends a lot of time killing seagulls.
It is hard to put a finger on what Tuba Atlantic is as a film, however seeing the 25 minute running time, and knowing it was a Norwegian film about death, I did not hold out too much hope of it being a fun experience. Truth is that the film manages to be grounded in this tale of a dying man and his estranged brother, but yet also brings in a lot of comedy and fantasy elements. I'm not wholly sure how much narrative importance the slaughtering of seagulls played in the overall film, but it was a very funny constant, and will resonate with anyone who has lived by the sea – or even tried to eat chips outdoors within 5 miles of coastal waters. The character of Inger plays well alongside Oskar, and the two performances do well to balance the absurd with the heartfelt – and in the end there is a gruff heart which provides a quite satisfying conclusion in the midst of the comedic and the fantasy of the tuba itself.
It is hard to put a finger on what Tuba Atlantic is as a film, however seeing the 25 minute running time, and knowing it was a Norwegian film about death, I did not hold out too much hope of it being a fun experience. Truth is that the film manages to be grounded in this tale of a dying man and his estranged brother, but yet also brings in a lot of comedy and fantasy elements. I'm not wholly sure how much narrative importance the slaughtering of seagulls played in the overall film, but it was a very funny constant, and will resonate with anyone who has lived by the sea – or even tried to eat chips outdoors within 5 miles of coastal waters. The character of Inger plays well alongside Oskar, and the two performances do well to balance the absurd with the heartfelt – and in the end there is a gruff heart which provides a quite satisfying conclusion in the midst of the comedic and the fantasy of the tuba itself.