''Psychedelica Blues'' is a Norwegian youth drama film from 1969 directed by Nils Reinhardt Christensen. Along with

Øyvind Vennerød Øyvind Vennerød (22 July 1919 – 27 September 1991) was a Norwegian film director and producer. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania, and was the father of Petter Vennerød. Filmography *1959: ''Støv på hjernen (1959 film), Støv på hjernen ...

's '' Himmel og helvete'', it was the first Norwegian film that dealt with adolescents' use of narcotics, and it was the first Norwegian film to clearly depict the use of LSD. Because it was released after Vennerød's film, it received far less attention.

Plot

The story deals with four days in Lissy's life in which she finds an outlet for a rebellious urge that has built up over several years. Lissy comes from a sheltered home with a conventional father who is a municipal politician. In the new environment she slips into the circle around the jazz group The Blue Bells, where she meets Lillegutt (Little Boy). He is a key member of the gang and supplier of drugs. Lillegutt is a cynical and intelligent judge of character, who has turned his back on a society of hypocrites. Through him, Lissy opens her eyes to the dividing lines between what is accepted and what is real.

Background

Christensen had previously seen success with the film '' Line'' in 1961 and with his Stompa films (1962–1967). He chose to base his last film on Karin Bang's 1968 novel ''Blues''. In contrast to ''Himmel og helvete'', Christensen chose a more experimentalist style and a less moralizing story, always portraying Lissy's own perspective.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Finn Syversen wrote in ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'' that "Christensen has wisely refrained from using the notion of drug abuse as a polemic topic. The debate on this phenomenon, which is relatively little explored by medical and sociological experts, has thus not been allowed to influence his intentions in any provocative, trend-setting way. ... We fully believe in

Kjersti Døvigen Kjersti Døvigen (27 June 1943 – 26 January 2021) was a Norwegian actress. She was known, among other things, for her role in the popular Norwegian TV-drama ''Offshore''. At the age of seven, Kjersti started dancing, her career began as a ...

's Lissy, who gives the role a character that reveals that she has a certain intuition for symptoms of loneliness in the cynical pessimism that plagues so many of today's young people. ... Repetitions of motifs were probably not avoidable in such a film, but they do not weaken the impression to any great extent. ''Psychedelia Blues'' is a highly worthwhile experiment."

Cast

as Lissy * Finn Kvalem as Lillegutt * Ståle Bjørnhaug as Leif * Ditlef Eckhoff as Wilhelm * Thomas Fasting as Jan * Truls Dramar as Joppe * Knut M. Hansson as Ragnar Borg * Vibeke Falk as Molle Borg * Kjell Frantzen as Brun, a university lecturer * Svein Sturla Hungnes * Helge Hurum as a band member *

Per Jansen Per Johan Jansen (14 December 1941 – 8 August 2022) was a Norwegian stage and film actor. Life and career Jansen was born in Bergen on 14 December 1941. He made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1966. He later had assignments at Oslo ...

as Eigil * Randi Nordby as Mrs. Korsmo * Eva Opaker as an alternative *

Arve Opsahl Arve Opsahl (14 May 1921 – 29 April 2007) was a Norwegian movie and stage actor, singer and stand-up comedian. Opsahl began his career as a comedian in 1942, and played numerous roles both on stage and in more than forty movies. He was then ch ...

as Hans Korsmo *

Anne Marie Ottersen Anne Marie Ottersen Lindtner (born 29 April 1945) is a Norway, Norwegian actress. She has been working at Nationaltheatret (the National Theatre) since 1970, and acted in roles such as "Polly Peachum" in Bertolt Brecht's ''The Threepenny Opera'', ...

as Liven * Gloria Rose as La Bommie * Espen Rud as a band member * Kåre Tengs-Pedersen as a band member

References

External links

*
''Psychedelica Blues''
at the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway () was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened in 2005. Prior to the e ...

1969 films Norwegian drama films 1960s Norwegian-language films Films directed by Nils Reinhardt Christensen {{Norway-film-stub