The Guardian
Documentary follows a resident of a Norwegian village for people with learning disabilities, spotlighting his connection with a Danish care worker This is a sweet, slight, gentle film about Ola Henningsen, a man in early middle age with a round, placid face who lives in a village community in eastern Norway for people with learning and developmental disabilities. (The original title in Norwegian translates as Ola: A Completely Ordinary Unusual Guy.) Director Ragnhild Nøst Bergem interviews Ola and follows him around the village; Ola describes himself as “slow” and yet also appears perfectly intelligent and articulate. But the film shows us something over and above this: Ola’s relationship with Lasse, a Danish care worker who once lived in the community alongside the residents, helping with activities, and who did nothing to discourage Ola thinking of him as his “best friend”. But Ola was clearly very hurt, even heartbroken, when Lasse (inevitably) had to leave the community and go back to Copenhagen because his employment term had come to an end. The second part of the film shows Ola going on a trip to see Lasse (which would have been impossible without Bergem accompanying him as his carer) and to some extent confessing to him his feelings of abandonment. Continue reading...
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