''Buddy'' is a 2003

Norwegian film Cinema in Norway has a long history, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, and has an important stance in European cinema, contributing at least 30 feature-length films a year. There have been over 1,050 films made in Norway ever si ...

directed by

Morten Tyldum Morten Tyldum (; born 19 May 1967) is a Norwegian film director. He is best known in his native Norway for directing the thriller film '' Headhunters'' (2011), based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, and internationally for directing the historical dram ...

after a script by Lars Gudmestad. The music was composed by

Lars Lillo-Stenberg Lars Lillo-Stenberg (born 30 June 1962) is a Norwegian rock musician. He is the man behind the Norwegian band deLillos, but he also played in The Last James and still plays in the band Young Neils. He has also recorded many solo albums. He is t ...

, known from the band

DeLillos deLillos is a Norway, Norwegian pop rock band formed in Oslo in 1984. They are generally regarded as one of the "Four Greats" in modern Norwegian pop music, i.e. one of the four 1980s groups that founded a new tradition for rock music with lyri ...

. The film was well received by critics, and won two

Amanda Awards The Amanda Award () is an award given annually at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, to promote and improve Norwegian film. The award originated in 1985, and has since 2005 been exclusively a film award (not televis ...

in 2004.

Plot

The film is about 24-year-old Kristoffer (

Nicolai Cleve Broch Nicolai Cleve Broch (born 14 November 1975) is a Norwegian theatre and film actor. He rose to national fame playing one of the leading roles in the 2002 drama series ''Lekestue'', which aired on NRK in 2002. He is also known for playing the prot ...

), who lives in

Tøyen Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo. Location There are two different stations which carry the name Tøyen. Tøyen Railway Station is located on the Gjøvik Line, while Tøyen (st ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

with his friends Geir ( Aksel Hennie) and Stig Inge (

Anders Baasmo Christiansen Anders Baasmo (born 29 January 1976) is a Norwegian actor originally from Hamar. Baasmo earned his breakthrough in 2003 when he received the Amanda award for his performance in the Norwegian picture '' Buddy''. He won the TV award Gullruten in ...

). Geir likes to live dangerously, while Stig is a more cautious and uncertain type. Kristoffer and Geir work as billboard hangers, and in his spare time Kristoffer makes a video diary with Geir and Stig, containing stunts of a '' Jackass''-nature. When Kristoffer's girlfriend, Elisabeth (

Janne Formoe Janne Formoe (born 13 July 1975) is a Norwegian actress. Career She grew up in Kristiansand as a daughter of Terje Formoe. Her father established the '' Captain Sabertooth'' franchise, where Janne Formoe was a permanent cast member as Sunniva. She ...

), leaves him, his life seems to fall to pieces. Then his videos are featured on Norway's most popular talk show, "God morgen Norge" on TV 2, and Kristoffer becomes famous.

Main cast

* Kristoffer Haukeland – Nicolai Cleve Broch * Geir – Aksel Hennie * Stig Inge Otnes – Anders Baasmo Christiansen * Henriette – Pia Tjelta * Elisabeth – Janne Formoe

Production

The idea for the movie started with two A4 pages of text in January 2002, from which it developed quickly. The creators described it as a love declaration for the city of

, a city they believed was under-represented on film. The choice of composer for the score – Lars Lillo-Stenberg – was in the same spirit; in the words of Tyldum: "He ''is'' Oslo". ''Buddy'' received support from ''Norsk Filmfond'' – the Norwegian government body for film funding – on 12 June 2002. Neither the script writer, the director, the producer or the actor for the main character had worked with feature-length films prior to this project. The director, Morten Tyldum, had worked with television, music videos, commercials and short films before, and he had been named "Film talent of the year" by the newspaper ''

Dagbladet () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...

'' in 1999, but this was his first full-length motion picture.

Reception

''Buddy'' was generally well received by the Norwegian press. The newspaper''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' gave it five out of six points, and remarked that in spite of a simple story, the movie was "damn well made". ''Dagbladet'' was less impressed, and gave the film a " die throw" of four out of six pips. The reviewer concluded that the film makers had succeeded in what they set out to do: to create an essentially "harmless" "feel-good-movie" after an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

model. The movie was also released internationally, and reviewed by the American magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. Eddie Cockrell, as opposed to the Norwegian reviewers, thought the film was "overly plotted". He found the movie to be "on the sweet side", but commended its "solid, sympathetic characterizations from the five leads". The film was awarded two Amandas in 2004: for "Best Film (Norwegian)" and "Best Actor" (Christiansen). It was also nominated in the category "Best Screenplay". It also received the "Audience Award" and the "Most Enjoyable Film" (awarded by Theatre Owners) at the

Norwegian International Film Festival The Norwegian International Film Festival ( or ''Filmfestivalen i Haugesund'') is a film festival held annually in Haugesund, Norway. The festival goes back to 1973 and is therefore the oldest one in Norway. In 1985, the Amanda award was ins ...

, the festival where the Amandas are awarded. At the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

it won the "Audience Award" in competition with 200 other films.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buddy (2003 Film) 2003 films 2003 romantic comedy films 2000s Norwegian-language films Films shot in Norway Films directed by Morten Tyldum 2003 directorial debut films Norwegian romantic comedy films