Hawaii, Oslo is a Norwegian film from 2004. It was directed by Erik Poppe

Erik Poppe

Erik Poppe is a Norwegian film director, screenwriter and former cinematographer and press photographer. Poppe started his career as a photographer for the newspaper Verdens Gang. He graduated as a cinematographer at the Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden in 1989, and had great success as...

 after a script by Harald Rosenløw Eeg

Harald Rosenløw Eeg

Harald Rosenløw Eeg is a Norwegian novelist and script writer. He made his literary début in 1995 with the youth novel Glasskår, for which he was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris. The novel was basis for a film from 2002. He was awarded the Brage Prize in 2004 for the youth novel...

. The music was composed by John Erik Kaada and Bugge Wesseltoft. The film was well received by critics, and was awarded two Amanda Awards

Amanda (award)

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...

 in 2005.

Plot

The film is about the character Vidar, who works at a psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

. He tries to keep himself awake as much as he can, because he has several times dreamt of horrible events that turned out to be true premonitions. At one point he dreams that Leon, one of the patients, who is supposed to meet his ex-girlfriend, never meets her, but is hit by an ambulance instead.

Reception

Hawaii, Oslo was generally very well received by the Norwegian press. The newspaper Dagbladet

Dagbladet

Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....

gave the film five out of six points, and called it an "intense cinematic experience". Aftenposten

Aftenposten

Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...

awarded six out of six points, claiming the movie expanded the boundaries of Norwegian film. Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang

Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...

also gave the film six out of six points.

The film was awarded two Amandas

Amanda (award)

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...

in 2005: for "Best Film (Norwegian)" and "Best Screenplay". It was also nominated within the categories "Best Director" and "Best Actor" (Stig Henrik Hoff).

Cast

• Vidar – Trond Espen Seim
• Leon – Jan Gunnar Røise
• Åsa – Evy Kasseth Røsten
• Frode – Stig Henrik Hoff
• Milla – Silje Torp Færavaag
• Viggo – Robert Skjærstad
• Bobbie – Petronella Barker
• Mikkel – Bejamin Røsler
• Magne – Ferdinand Falsen-Hiis
• Tina – Judith Darko
• Trygve – Aksel Hennie
• John – Morten Faldaas