Geekscape at Sundance 2011 – The Troll Hunter Review
Geekscape at Sundance 2011
The Troll Hunter
Trolljegeren (pronounced troll-YAY-geren)
Director/Screenwriter: Andre Ovredal
Norway, 2010, 103min, color
Norwegian with English subtitltes
Principal Cast: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Hans Morten Hansen, Johanna Morch, Thomas Alf Larsen
Awesome, entertaining, & very fun to watch, The Toll Hunter plays off a “Blair Witch”-esque, found footage feel (Cloverfield was also an inspiration) to deliver an enjoyable trek to discover Norway’s biggest kept (and most fantastic) secret. The story is presented from the point of view of a small group of Volda College journalism students, tracking a recent rampage on communities near vast areas of forests and mountains. The havoc is something that the government sanctioned TSS (Troll Security Service) is trying to cover up by blaming it on the bears. Meanwhile, the Volda crew suspects a silent poacher in unsanctioned bear killings. Through their sheer persistence, our youngsters win over this lonely Indiana Jones-like suspected poacher, Hans (played by famous Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen), who reluctantly opens their eyes to the truth. Jespersen’s character plays homage to Indiana Jones right down to the hat. But this is not distracting; he is a more reserved, serious, no-nonsense version. As a strong spirited man who is not easily fazed, he does, as you would imagine, have his own eccentricities after decades of hunting trolls – he must sleep under a tanning bed, he cannot fall asleep in the dark.
As the film starts we are informed that the editors received 238 hours of footage from an anonymous source, which they proceeded to edit into the 103 minutes we are about to see. Hard cuts, as if the footage was really pasted together, keep the film constantly moving forward. Though the film has a documentary feel, unlike Blair Witch, the movie watches like a proper motion picture. It was the intention of the director, Andre Ovredal, to bring a sense of realism by using this documentary approach, while capturing the beautiful scenery and giving it a big budget feel. Another tool used to move the film forward and to set-up what goes on visually is the dialogue. Yes, the dialogue is in Norwegian, but the humor translates well and the subtitles are not difficult to follow.
You may not know that The Troll Hunter roots are quite deep in original Norwegian folklore. When he was a child, Overdal’s grandparents would read him an 1850’s book, titled The Fairy Tales of Asbjornen and Moe. Many of the stories were related to trolls, and not all of these trolls were “those cute, little gnome-like things” with wide eyes. The book was filled with drawings (by Theodor Kittelsen) of terrifying monster-like trolls – “some even more terrifying that in [the] film”, as Overdal says. According to these tales, there has been a rift between mankind and trolls, starting between the Viking time and 1 A.D. This desire to stay true to the Norwegian origins of the troll legends drove Ovredal to make this movie, and it is the infusion of these details that makes the story so captivating.
The Norwegian landscape plays a great visual part as well. In fact, one thing that I really appreciated about this film is that it does not try to accomplish everything at night; there is plenty of beautiful day footage too. I should mention that – yes, you will see the trolls!!! And the visual effects are very well done.
The film does not try to take itself too seriously; it is funny, sometimes outright, sometimes like a dark comedy. With bits of humor infused here and there, one example being the “Slayed Troll Form” that Hans has to fill in after each successful kill. It is because of the dry, matter-of-fact approach that the comedy really works.
I know that at one point the Troll Hunter was considered for purchase for a U.S. remake (editor: Universal currently holds the rights). But I would argue that it is particularly the Norwegian folklore, dialogue and landscape that make this film special. So I am happy to take it at face value and say unequivocally that I was very entertained. Of course, as with many films of this genre, you just have to relax your critical eye a bit, and just enjoy the ride!
An interesting tid-bit of information:
It was of course, the director of photography (DP) who was running around with the camera, and not Thomas Alf Larsen – portraying cameraman Kalle. However, it was important to simulate that experience, so Kalle would appear panting and tired as if he was lugging around the camera. During the Q&A the actors described the comical scene they would see daily: the DP running with a camera, and Larsen running right behind him, almost touching, with a huge rock on his shoulder.
