Two men in a small village love the same woman in "Jonny Vang," a mildly amusing effort, billed as a comedy but with a pervading sense of melancholy, from first-time director Jens Lien and first-time screenwriter Stale Stein Berg. Though likable enough, pic doesn't really stand out among the crowd.

Two men in a small village love the same woman in “Jonny Vang,” a mildly amusing effort, billed as a comedy but with a pervading sense of melancholy, from first-time director Jens Lien and first-time screenwriter Stale Stein Berg. Though likable enough, and with a couple of most attractive performances, pic doesn’t really stand out among the crowd, and commercial prospects outside Norway look iffy.

When they were children (per brief B&W flashbacks), Jonny, Tuva and Magnus were inseparable blood buddies. Now that they’re adults, they’re still pretty close. Tuva (Laila Goody) and Magnus (Fridtjov Saheim) are married and have a son, and Tuva sleeps with Jonny (Aksel Hennie) at every opportunity. This is because Magnus has recently become distant toward her, and is seldom at home; she suspects he has a girlfriend, but the truth, when it’s eventually revealed, is quite different.

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Meanwhile, Jonny, who is starting a worm farm, decides he wants to marry Tuva, and no sooner has he popped the question than his woes begin. He’s hit over the head with a shovel, shot in the nether regions with an air rifle, and his business is sabotaged. On top of that, his mother crashes his car and his step-father packs up and leaves. It’s an awful lot of activity for this small, picturesque, out-of-the-way hamlet.

Hennie’s Jonny is an earnestly amiable character, and Goody’s Tuva is a fresh-faced beauty with a lot of charm. But their story doesn’t have a great deal of drive or momentum, despite the misadventures that befall the perplexed hero, and it certainly isn’t as amusing as perhaps intended. A few songs on the soundtrack keep things perking, and production values, starting with a murky 35mm blow-up, are pretty modest.

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Johnny Vang

Norway

  • Production: A UIP release (in Norway) of a Maipo Film & TV production. (Intl. sales: Trust Film Sales, Copenhagen.) Produced by Dag Alveberg. Directed by Jens Lien. Screenplay, Stale Stein Berg.
  • Crew: Camera (color/B&W), Philip Ogaard, Erling Thurmann-Andersen; editor, Pal Gegenbach; production designer, Are Sjaastad; sound (Dolby digital), Petter Fladeby; line producer, Synnove Horsdal. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (Panorama), Feb. 8, 2003. Running time: 85 MIN.
  • With: Jonny Vang - Aksel Hennie Tuva - Laila Goody Magnus - Fridtjov Saheim Brita - Marit A. Andreassen Odvar - Bjorn Sundquist Helene - Silje Salomonsen Police Officer - Nils Vogt

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