Norwegian novelist and filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud explores “Love,” “Sex,” and “Dreams” in his three independent features, collectively known as the “Oslo Trilogy.” The first installment, “Love,” currently playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, explores different aspects of human connection, desire, and nonconventional intimacy.
“Love” is a slow build that unfolds over the course of a Scandinavian summer. The two intriguing protagonists, Marianne (Andrea Braein Hovig) and Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen), work together in an Oslo hospital. Marianne is a straight oncologist, and Tor is a gay male nurse who works with her. From the very first moment, Marianne’s calm and reassuring demeanor is evident as she delivers the difficult news to a young patient that he has prostate cancer, and that the treatment will render him sterile and affect his erectile function.
The connection between sex and love is established when Marianne shares later in the film, “What I’ve learned is that the body is a battlefield. We gain from taking that to heart … That doesn’t just go for disease. It goes for sexuality, too.”
Marianne is aware of the sensitivity of the news she bears, but perhaps Tor is even more so. We learn about their perspectives when, that first night, they meet on a ferry from Oslo to a neighboring island just across the way. The chance encounter leads to a trade of confidences.
Tor is essentially out cruising. He explains that he likes to look at Grindr while on the boat. If he gets lucky and finds someone traveling on the ferry as well, he enjoys looking up and making contact: “For me, it’s mostly about the thrill. Meeting someone’s gaze and realizing we’re both on.” But Tor explains that he’s perfectly happy whether the experience is simply looking at one another, talking, or having sex. He particularly likes sharing after casual sex. “You may not know their name … yet there’s a pleasant closeness which makes opening up natural.” Yet Tor meets someone who ends up pushing up against his inclination for detachment.
Marianne herself is not seeking marriage and children, and is not even sure that she wants a relationship. When a friend introduces her to a divorced geologist as a potential boyfriend, she is tentative. Although attracted to him, he comes with baggage — his alcoholic ex-wife lives right next door, and their insecure daughters have the run of both places. Wishing the situation were easier, she tells Tor, “Things always get so complicated. I wish I could’ve had sex with him tonight and never seen him again.” Later, she reflects, “I have compassion for all humanity, but I don’t think I’m cut out for only one man.”
As the film progresses, both Marianne and Tor explore what modern connection means to them, and the delicate lines keep shifting, making for an engaging narrative that explores societal norms in an intriguing, nonjudgmental manner.
The other two features in the “Oslo Trilogy” will play later this summer at the M.V. Film Center. The films are interconnected, with some characters and events appearing in multiple installments, but they can be viewed independently. Together, they offer a distinct yet complementary perspective of what it means to be in connection with one another.
“Love” is playing at the M.V. Film Center. For more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com.
