Head Above Water (1993)

Who payed the critics

Some things I liked some I did not.

Purely Joyful Movie!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one terrific movie, I can't believe they keep it hidden like this. I know very few norwegian movies, but I can tell this one is among the great ones.What makes this movie so great? A lot of things. The plot is as intriguing as it is original and unusual. The norwegian settings are beautiful. There is tension, intensity, suspense and black, morbid humor. It's a very crazy movie and its craziness is a key reason why I like it so much. I like crazy movies and this is by far one of the craziest I know. Film-making, direction and picture quality are first class. The actors are terrific. Nothing or almost nothing is over the top, even though the character Einar does some truly disturbing (even shocking) things.Lene Elise Bergum is super as Lene. She is so believable that when she is seized by panic, it looks as if she's gonna collapse. And she's one of the hottest people I've ever seen in a movie.Svein Roger Karlsen is phenomenal as Einar. He convinces to the point of, more than portraying the character, seeming as if he *becomes* him. His facial expressions are priceless. He is completely crazy, enigmatic, ironic, hilarious and creepy and sinister when he's supposed to. This guy is like a norwegian Jack Nicholson and Peter Lorre.Morten Abel makes a great Bjørn. Reidar Sørensen is as intense in his acting as his character Gaute is (in other words, a beautiful acting).As expected, I have to say this: this movie had an American remake (itself not much better known than the original). The remake closely follows the original's plot and they are indeed very similar but obviously differ in details and the remake is more americanized. The remake seemed fine before but that was before I found out there is an original and compared them. The original triumphs beyond any doubt.In comparison, the original is "truer", darker in some ways and more "humble" in others, has more beautiful scenario, infinitely better acting from the actors and avoids the laughable faults detected in the remake. Some things in the remake are over the top (for example, the chainsaw scene - PLEASE!!!) - of which the original is void of.Lene Elise Bergum is phenomenal, easily a lot more convincing than Cameron Diaz. Lene is so much more intense. Harvey Keitel tries the best he can, but he just isn't in the same league as Svein Roger Karlsen. Craig Sheffer was enjoyable, but then again Morten Abel is better. Billy Zane is boring, which Reidar Sørensen never is.Don't know the title in Portugal.

I saw the American remake ("Head Above Water") when it was released in 1996. It was a true comedy of errors - full of laughs and funny gags. Having now watched the original Norwegian film on video, I'm quite disappointed. It's not much more than a mediocre suspense/thriller film. Had I not seen the American remake, I wouldn't have believed that this could be a comedy at all.I'm not sure what made the difference. It surely wasn't the subtitles, which I much prefer over dubbing. Furthermore, I'm not used to hearing Norwegian, but it wasn't an issue either, in fact, I loved the way it sounds.What else? The plot and script. Nine years have passed by since I saw the remake, but it seems both films are very similar, so it must have something to do with acting I guess. Cameron Diaz is not much of a comedian, but she was still funnier than Lene Elise Bergum. Nevertheless, the latter did frequently display a couple of other positive traits, so I have no regrets she was in the film. The rest of the cast were also sufficient, yet ill-inspired. Svein Roger Karlsen as the husband was sub-par. He was the only one that looked like he was trying to act in a comedy, but it didn't work out too well (never brought a smile to my face). Morten Abel as the friend was rather bland and Reidar Sørensen as the ex-boyfriend was just as annoying as his character should have been (which is good).All in all, if you haven't seen either film - skip this one. The remake is definitely better.Prog.

This Norwegian movie called "Hodet Over Vannet" from 1993 is one the best Norwegian movies ever made and the movie was also popular in United States that Hollywood made an own American version "Head Above Water" in 1996. The movie was the first movie to the huge Norwegian sing star Morten Abel and he made also the movie title song. The song "Hodet Over Vannet" is a real popular music hit in Norway and are still often playing on radio. The actress (Lene) who playing in this movie have also playing a huge popular role in the largest Norwegian soap TV series "Hotel Cæsar" where she played from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 Morten Abel played in his second movie "Alt For Egil", a really good Norwegian movie with a lot of singing dialogs with songs, nearly something like a half musical movie. Morten Abel made most of the music and songs to that movie too. The DVD version of "Alt For Egil" released in April 2005. "Hodet Over Vannet" released on DVD from the end of June 2005.Both DVDs should have subtitles in English for the DVD market in Europe and maybe United States too. Check out the DVD net shops from Norway.

This is a good movie that breezes by while you're squirming over how good intentions can, and sometimes will, go awry. While the cast is limited, it by no means is limiting. The plot is deceivingly confusing and, while you think you're on top of it, it challenges you till the end. I recommend it in the original version with sub-titles because that's part of its charm.