Folk flest bor i Kina (2002) User Reviews (5)

Not only for Norwegians

[smartiew · 8/10 · 10 November 2002]

The movie is a collection of eight loosely connected episodes. Each one is dedicated to a norwegian party. Nine directors worked together in the production, yet in my opinion, the integration of the different stories worked better here than it did in similar attempts, for example "Four Rooms".

I am not at all familiar with norwegian politics, but the characterisations of parties are applicable to other countries just as well. The observations on political movements are accurate and they are presented in a very pleasant sarcastic manner.

Surely there are some norwegian specialties, and I certainly missed some of the humour, but even if stripped off any political meaning, the stories are funny and well-told.

Smart and cruel film about Norway, and our views...

[Koola · 8/10 · 18 June 2002]

This film, titled FOLK FLEST BOR I KINA, which loosely translated would be; Most people live in China.

This title actually says a lot about the film, and how it sees us norwegians. Norway has 4,5 million citizens, China has way beyond 1 billion. The idea with this film is to have small segments within the film, one for each political party. A collaboration of screenwriters has put the scripts to paper, and 9 norwegian directors has created each of their part of this film.

With so many different creative forces, FOLK FLEST could easily become messy and quirky. But the frame-segment about Lasse, a gas-station owner who only wants to fly, saves the mess. It is a quirky, beautiful story - directed by Thomas Robsahm - that in a fine way connects to all of the other segments.

I'm not going to rave on about each small film within the film, so I am going to say that in general, this is a film with lots of enjoyment! The filmmakers have pinned down very characteristic and almost cruel views on the political parties, but what makes it charming and funny is the way they have used ordinary people to say something about very serious politics.

So, a fine film, but probably totally uninteresting for people outside Norway...

just to add a few words

[ruben-heim · 8/10 · 28 November 2002]

yes, it is amazing and noteworthy. it is nicely framed by the idea of all the characters stopping by at a gas-station in the middle of nowhere (which was intended as a symbol for Norway itself, according to the producer).

Though it is not always easy to understand each detail, if you are not from Norway, there are enough hints/common features shared by other countries.

Moreover, "Folk Flest..." works on the level of pure entertainment as good as it does on the level of political satire. Therefore, I'd like to encourage you to see the movie if you can.

It won the "Rainer-Werner-Fassbinder-Preis" for best narrative structure at this year's International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg. (plus the award of the "jury of the international filmcritics")

one of the best films about us humans

[katja_victoria · 10/10 · 4 April 2006]

I first saw this film at a film festival by chance, and I think I was very lucky. Far from being uninteresting for people from outside Norway, this film is indeed very fun and thoughtful. It is not about politics or Norway as such, it can be just about people, people of this earth, how we are alone even when there are people with us, how our relationships work out, how our lives change and yet stay the same, how some people are cruel and others good but this is actually the same thing when you get to the bottom of it all. When I came out of the movie, I found myself not being able to stop smiling: I was on a natural high. And every time I watch the DVD, I find the same thing happening over and over again. It has a calming effect: you realize that we are all the same and this is somehow comforting. There is not a lot of dialogue, not much action, the music is beautiful and so suitable, the photography is superb. The film is made up of several short films (they can indeed be shown as short films), bound together by the story of a lonely man with a dream. 100% enjoyment despite the political elements being incomprehensible by outsiders!!! (But it would be a total let-down for Hollywood lovers.)

Boring stories with no plot

[Rayniack · 1/10 · 3 July 2012]

I usually like political satire, but this was just a borefest. There is absolutely no plot at all, but just random stories which do not make any sense at all and just extremely loosely connected to each others.If I hadn't seen any other Norwegian movies, than I'd stay far away from at least all ""comedy"" that comes from this country. There was 1 hour 22 minutes in my life wasted with one of the most be among the most boring films I ever seen. Surely some people might have a different sense of humor, but when I watch a comedy then I at least except to laugh once and this had just a few attempts that I could except would cause a few giggles. I would definitely not class this as a comedy, what the heck it is, I have no idea of, since I do not consider this "movie" anything else than a random mess of boring scenes that do not go anywhere.