‘Norwegian Dream’ Review: Reel Affirmations 2023

metroweekly.com:

Young love is a well-trodden theme in LGBTQ cinema, but rarely is it depicted with such quiet assuredness as in this standout international feature.Norwegian Dream (★★★★★, CRITIC’S PICK) centers on 19-year-old Robert (a dazzling Hubert Milkowski), the latest Polish immigrant to land on the Norwegian island of Sotra and the newest worker at a fish factory already stuffed to the gills with Polish transplants.We’re offered little information as wide-eyed Robert is put into his uniform and assigned a mentor, Ivar (Karl Bekele Steinland), who gets him up to speed with the cutting and gutting.The film’s trajectory becomes clear when Robert’s Polish comrades, led by roommate Marek (Jakub Seirenberg), tease and make racist jokes about Ivar as he dances in the factory car park during a break.Robert hangs back, studying Ivar with barely concealed intrigue, a trend that continues into the group’s raucous night out after a long shift.

Robert drinks and watches Ivar — a gaze that is returned when the alcohol takes over and Robert breaks out of his shell just enough to let loose on the dancefloor.You can probably guess where this is going, but don’t let the familiar “young love in a tough place” narrative fool you.

Yes, Robert is struggling with the homophobia of his home country, and the potential threat that any one of his Polish roommates could display similar traits.

And when Ivar turns out to be the factory-owner’s adopted son, it’s clear there’s a class divide at play as well.However, rather than give into schmaltz, writers Justyna Bilik, Gjermund Gisvold, and Radoslaw Paczocha have instead crafted a substantive, multi-threaded narrative that quickly fleshes out Robert’s troubled backstory.There’s the potential budding love.