Out Stealing Horses – Ut og stjæle hester (2019)

Directed by: Hans Petter Moland | 122 minutes | drama | Actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Bjørn Floberg, Tobias Santelmann, Danica Curcic, Pål Sverre Hagen, Gard B. Eidsvold, Jon Ranes, Sjur Vatne Brean, Torjus Hopland Vollan, Tone Beate Mostraum, Anders Baasmo Christiansen

Norwegian-born Hans Petter Moland is best known for his film ‘Kraftidioten’ and his own American remake ‘Cold Persuit’, black-humorous crime films in which an elderly man takes revenge on the thugs who murdered his son. These are very cold and rough films, laced with a deep layer of cynical humor. With ‘Out Stealing Horses’ Moland is collaborating for the fifth time with actor Stellan Skarsgård, who also played the lead role in ‘Kraftidioten’. But this is where the similarities between the two films stop, because where ‘Kraftidioten’ was very outspoken in its plot, ‘Out Stealing Horses’ is a very calm and reserved film.

‘Out Stealing Horses’ starts in November 1999, just before the new millennium. After losing his wife in a car accident, retired Trond (Stellan Skarsgård) moves back to Norway. Here he spends his days in total solitude, until one evening he bumps into his quirky neighbor Lars (Bjørn Floberg). It is precisely this Lars, whom Trond has not seen for decades, that transports him back to his childhood. Suddenly he relives all kinds of memories of the summer of 1948, when he was fifteen years old and lived in the mountains for a few weeks with his father. This was the summer when he stabled horses with his friend Jon and fell in love for the first time. But it was also the summer when a tragic accident happened and his father’s secrets came to light. It was the summer when Trond lost his innocence for good…

The strongest aspect of ‘Out Stealing Horses’ is without a doubt the camera work of Rasmus Videbæk. Here Videbæk offers a very impressive view of the nature of Norway. Whether it’s the icy snowy landscape of the 1999 timeline, or the lush green pastures of the 1948 timeline, it’s dazzlingly beautiful at all times. It is therefore not difficult to understand why he won an award for his camera work at the Berlin Film Festival. Any viewer will no doubt consider a holiday to Norway after this viewing experience.

But where the appearance of the film excels, the actual story unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. The plot of ‘Out Stealing Horses’ contains many heavy and gloomy moments, yet the film never manages to be genuinely moving. The great tragic accident of the film is very sad, but afterwards the characters behave so monotonously and closed that in the end it leaves little impression. The accident seems to mean nothing to them in many ways, no one ever talks about it. And that leads to another problem with the film. Since all the characters are unwilling or unable to talk to each other, the story must be told regularly through voice-over. Many scenes are robbed of some form of nuance as a result. It is all pre-chewed for the viewer.

Besides the absent emotional layer, the film also lacks a clear structure. Some moments are rushed and do not fit well into the overall picture of the film. For example, when young Trond learns the truth about his father’s past, we suddenly end up in 1943. This short journey to World War II hardly gets the time to develop sufficiently. There is one tense moment in this section, but in the end this trip to the past leaves no lasting traces. Instead of this look into the past, more time could have been spent on character development. Because despite the beautiful camera work, ‘Out Stealing Horses’ ultimately remains a very distant film.