Review: 'Reprise'

Clear away the annoying avant-gardism and you have a powerful movie about a writer on the brink.

A Norwegian movie that often looks and feels like a resurrected specimen of the French New Wave, "Reprise" is about two close friends, Phillip (Anders Danielsen) and Erik (Epsen Klouman), both budding novelists, and the wayward ways their lives play out. First-time director Joachim Trier shatters their stories into disjointed shards. Clear away the annoying avant-gardism and you have a powerful movie about a writer, Phillip, who undergoes a mental breakdown and is pulled halfway back to health by his girlfriend Kai (Viktoria Winge). The soundtrack is a blaring mélange of punk and postpunk. Grade: B. (Not rated.)