Hope

The movie offers hope to its characters but, even more affectingly, to us.

Andrea Bræin Hovig and Stellan Skarsgard are transcendent.

This is a very well-acted, well-written Norwegian drama... Clear-eyed, insightful, and heartfelt.

The full, flawed humanity of Hovid and Skarsgard's characters is imbued in nearly every scene, even their smallest interactions bearing the full weight of a long romantic history.

The effect of Hope is anything but depressing; it's reassuring proof of art's ability to comfort as it clarifies.

Raw, melancholy and unquestionably mature, "Hope" understands that some wounds may never be healed.

The final scenes of the movie are beautiful, enchanting even: Sodahl's screenplay is, in that Scandinavian way, clipped and delicate, but the images say everything.

There are no gimmicks or twists to be found here - just a straightforward terminal illness drama that allows genuine emotions to shine through in every interaction.

Hope is not an easy film; its emotions are ragged and raw and unvarnished by the Hollywood sheen that so often covers films about lovers facing impending tragedy.

I can imagine a Hollywood soap-operatic interpretation of this story whose final moments would be a semi-uplifting. But Sodhal bravely maintains her stoic approach to her script's emotional mood swings.