Little warmth from northern Europe

Jaylon 2022-05-06 06:01:04

In fact, this movie has no direct relationship with Christmas, but the climax of the story happened on Christmas Eve.

One of the protagonists of the story, Kebjörn, brought out a beautiful big box on Christmas Eve, which was given to him. Christmas gift from my good friend Ai Lin. At this time, the Christmas children’s chorus program was playing on the TV. As Ailin slowly unpacked the wrapping paper, he realized that it contained the luxurious matchsticks made by Kebi Ang himself. Wooden house! For an instant, Aylin's heart was filled with infinite emotion, and the Christmas songs on the TV gradually rang, and the matchstick house was magnificent and magnificent like a dream.

You might say that this is just a very ordinary plot. Yes, this movie is about friendship, but it's more than that. It talks about love, growth, communication, self-identification and discovery. More importantly, the attitude of telling all this is full of tolerance and warmth. All this has to do with the identities of Aylin and Kebjörn—a mentally ill patient suffering from a communication disorder who came to the capital Oslo for treatment from a nursing home.

Ai Lin spent most of his life with his mother until the death of his mother who depended on each other at the age of forty. Losing his only support for life, Ai Lin began to live in the closet until the social workers arrested him and entered the nursing home. After two years of being nailed to the nursing home, Aylin, who is nervous and sensitive, finally has to face the real world. Under the arrangement of the welfare system, he came to Oslo, the capital of Oslo with the 40-year-old Kebbian who was suffering from the same illness. According to the psychological counselors of Ailin and Kebbian, they wanted to try to integrate them into the lives of normal people.

Before coming to Oslo, Aylin had a serious communication disorder: he had never bought anything in a supermarket (there was no supermarket in the nursing home), had never called anyone (no need to call when staying in the nursing home), except for Kebian. Any friend (especially after the death of Ailin’s mother), if there are other people, he can’t even deal with it normally... Urban life is like an adventure, they rely on their willpower, the courage to build step by step, and they are sent back. The threat of the nursing home staggered through many unfamiliar journeys in life. In the end, the beautiful and wonderful life in the metropolis slowly waved to them.

Although this light comedy film from Norway talks about the life experience of people with disabilities, it does not have the coldness of Northern Europe at all. The whole film is full of warmth and childlike innocence. The director looked at these two adults who were pure-hearted like children with a child-like transparent and unbiased vision, watching them go through setbacks and grow up. There is no condescending posture in the whole film, no clenching teeth and overcoming all obstacles that we often see when we are accustomed to telling films about disabled people... everything is easy, even full of little humor. We can see the director's attitude: calm and gentle. As a result, the ordinary protagonist exudes infinite charm.

Going back to the Christmas Eve scene at the beginning of this article, I think what moved Aylin the most was the love from his brother Kebiang, who shared weal and woe. For both of them, being able to love or feel the love of others is a proud "creation" in the process of integrating into the lives of normal people! Therefore, the director arranged it for Christmas Eve. And for us, in such a festival that originally belonged to others, is it not a joy to watch such a warm little movie from another country?

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Extended Reading

Elling quotes

  • Elling: I'll just walk the streets for a few hours. Be a walking target for random violence.

  • Elling: Had I really made a friend without any help from the Norwegian government?

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