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ACTOR
Nils Jørgen KaalstadJosefin LjungmanKyrre HellumJenny Skavlan
DIRECTOR
Arild Fröhlich
SYNOPSICS
Fatso (2008) is a Norwegian,German movie. Arild Fröhlich has directed this movie. Nils Jørgen Kaalstad,Josefin Ljungman,Kyrre Hellum,Jenny Skavlan are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2008. Fatso (2008) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
Overweight loner Rino spends his days in seclusion, until his dad rents a room to an overtly sexual girl who challenges Rino to break down his walls.
Fatso (2008) Trailers
Fatso (2008) Reviews
A fat man fights against himself to attain his right to be horny and happy
I finally saw this film a couple of days ago, having put it off due to middling reviews and a general lack of buzz. I was shocked to discover that not only did it work, it worked better than any Norwegian film I can remember seeing in the last few years. Granted, Norwegian film is in dire straits at the moment, rehashing dull formulas, making films out of every best-selling book regardless of how well it suits cinema or even works as a book. And yet the industry is in love with itself, regarding these times as some sort of golden age for our business. So let me just say that most movies chosen to prove that claim are nothing but mild versions of Fatso, and that if the business wants a flagship, here it is. Like most Norwegian movies, the story concerns a sexually arrested man in an Oslo apartment whose main goal in life is to get laid. But unlike the cutesy characters usually presented, this guy is a monster. Only not. We get such uncensored glimpses of his sexual imagination that even as one laughs, one might also feel uncomfortable by the honesty with which his mind is presented. Especially since we all know that deep down we're not as far away from his thought processes as we imagine. The story is basically a repeat of the cinematic wave that made 1999 such a banner year for American cinema, exploring the male psyche and his place in modern society. Sure, not many women would want to sleep with, or get to know, this obese, inward-looking, one-track-mind person, but the filmmakers are fully committed to support his right to be fat, horny and in lust for companionship. Everything he sees reminds him of sex, sometimes in very concrete ways, sometimes in more abstract ways and some times his mind wanders into combinations of childish superhero worship and universal needs. He is a lonely man who sits in his apartment eating, masturbating and subconsciously hating himself, until his father rents out a room in his large apartment to a sexy Swedish girl with issues of her own. Some see her character as underdeveloped, but we only see her from Rino's point of view, and there are enough moments of desperation in her story to suggest that the angst of the movie is universal, regardless of apparent status, looks and crowd. She doesn't need to be an angel or insanely smart because all Rino needs is someone, anyone, to see him, even if it is with disgust in their eyes. The story takes us through Rino's journey out of his misery, but it only takes us so far, the filmmakers resisting the temptation to give us the American miracle-cure. The alterations he makes to his universe are things most of us could learn from, even if we're not in as deep a ditch as him. He goes from being an anti-hero to a hero in the traditional sense, trying anything to achieve his goals, while also displaying moral ambiguities that makes him tragically human. His relationship with his best friend is both hilarious and sad, the metaphors are direct and truthful, the way he sees the world has a twisted universality to it. Somehow a PERSON has found his way into a stylized comedy. At it's core, this is not a movie about getting laid, losing weight, getting friends, status, cooler clothes or creative success, which are all goals the movie keeps open throughout. It's about seeing yourself in others. As he sees the tragedy beneath beautiful surfaces and beauty and humanity beneath ugly exteriors he keeps developing a sense of himself. And through discovering the human being in Rino, viewers who are honest with themselves may see their own lives in a slightly different light and walk out of the theaters as more of a person.
Not that shallow
No, Fatso is not just another teen comedy about an horny-but-clumsy uggo. Or, to put it better, it is ALSO about Rino, an awkward young man (not that young actually) with too much interest in porn and not enough social skills to turn his fantasies into reality. The conflict between his wishes and his inability to be "normal" is the core of the movie. Rino's quiet and secluded life gets turned upside down when Malin, a young Swedish girl, moves in his flat. The girl is more or less everything Rino has just watched on porn movies: she's young, cute, social and very "open". The problem is: she only dates (ie. sleeps) "cool morons". Rino tries hard to become cool himself, but in the end he fails. He and Malin are just too different and can barely work as roomies, as the social and aesthetic prejudice can't be overcome by either of them, thus making even a friendship impossible. The icing on the cake is the grand finale, where Rino gives up his try to become a new man, and falls back to his old habits of autoerotism... with tragicomic consequences. But in the very end, Rino and Malin have taught and learnt something, and we leave them going separate ways, hopefully a little bit better then they were when they first met. Fatso has two souls: you can take it as a typical "beauty and the beast" comedy (with no happy ending though) or a as a slightly deeper analysis of social interaction, expectations and pigeon-holes. Its best aspect is it doesn't provide an easy way out: Rino won't end up being a stud, and he won't stop being a clumsy porn-addict virgin either. Malin won't probably stop being a fickle party-animal either. But both at least made something out of each other's company, and are probably a little less lost when out of their element. Especially Rino. On a final note, there is virtually no trace of the trivial and blunt vulgarity that made Fatso a controversial book in Norway. Rino was a much more disgusting, perverted and hopeless character in the book, but in the movie they had to make him look more sympathetic. And I'm not sure that was a smart move. Also, the book ended in a much much MUCH more controversial way, fitting Rino's ugly character. Once again, it would have been interesting seeing that ending on the silver screen too. But the ending must be sorta happy, and clean even though it's not Hollywood. All in all, an enjoyable movie, with some ups and some downs, but with such an interesting starting point like Fatso (the book), it should have been done much more out of it. A final note: Casting a Swedish girl for the role of Malin (Maria is Norwegian in the book) was probably meant as a way to remark the difficult communication between Rino and women (and vice-versa) also by having the characters speaking in two different languages. Similar but different.
There're so many "RINOS" like this one out there
FATSO is a Norwegian comedy-drama about a solitary man, RINO, which lives alone in a house that belongs to his father. He's fat, addicted to pornography, doesn't care of his own looking and his home really looks like a mess; and yes, he doesn't have a girlfriend and doesn't even know how to talk with girls To relief from his frustrated sexual life and flow his fantasies this guy does a cartoon where he assumes the leader character: Here RINO is some kind of superhero and he can fight against everyone who subjugates him but it's just an escape from his frustrating life! One day his father tells him that he will rent one of the apartments' rooms to a Swedish girl; and this event will change his monotonous life, definitely! I appreciated this comedy-drama. It has some good "dirty humor" and some really crazy scenes, but I expected a different plot's development and also a different disclosure. In fact I think it has an unsatisfying ending. It has a nice message, OK, but I was expecting something different something less dramatic, I don't know Well, at least it doesn't have one of those awful Hollywood endings where the guy always end up together with the girl! And that's a good thing! On the other side, I don't think this movie is too clichéd, at all! It doesn't have nothing to do with those boring and (ultra) clichéd American teenage comedies! And that's a good thing, again! But at the same time it also makes you think that it's not just a comedy, in fact, it tells us a story that is not so uncommon these days, and that's probably the most "dramatic part" of it There're so many "RINOS" like this one out there
A poignant plot despite the corny, horny comical front
I saw this movie without any expectation that it would be good. But it turns out to be an artful and skillfully developed movie that is comical on the surface but carries deep down a tragic undertone. Nils Jørgen Kaalstad, who plays Rino, is a much better actor than first appears on screen. His acting is superb in subtle ways. He plays an over-sexed nerd who is hooked onto pornography but has not developed the skills required to actually lure women to bed. His innate shyness and inexperience make him a lonely, socially (and sexually) ostracized person. But Rino has a good heart and is a kind and responsible person. The anecdotes on his translating "boring" user manuals of tools and widgets from the German to Norwegian is actually funny and very true-to-life. I know people who do such work for a living. I can see that this movie may not appeal to viewers who don't not want to think. Rino's failure to live a "normal" sex life is a veiled condemnation of the dark side of Internet sex. Rino elicits sympathy. One hopes he will eventually finds the right woman who rescues him from the dungeon of cyber sex obsession. The movie is deeply honest and real-to-life.
From embarrassing to great to face-palm.
This concept could very well have portrayed an awkward fat nerd's struggle to become a real alpha man and Rino could very well have become every fat nerd's role model. I thought first the movie was aiming at this, but like most Norwegian movies, this movie has its unnecessary twists and turns to make the viewer not anticipate such ending and of course this has it's own shares of such. I must say Nils Kaalstad starring Rino is one of the best performances EVER. He genuinely portrays a very awkward and ultra nerdy guy in such a realistic way that you actually feel he is one hell of a looser and almost forget this is a movie and not a documentary of such a douche. He actually grows eventually a bit more balls and it is amazing to see the gradual transformation of Rino. From extremely awkward to sometimes very charismatic, this actor knows how to deliver! Malin is Rinos new roommate and she does also a terrific job to portray a stupid Swedish blonde girl who likes to party and never takes responsibility for anything. Rino's best friend is Fillip who is often very abusive to him, but since Rino has no friends, I guess he has to take what he gets. It is also very interesting to see how this relation completely changes, once Rino grows some balls. Rino also likes to draw cartoons, depicting his sexual frustration, which is kind of interesting concept even though they are quite immature and plain right stupid. This movie could have been "Rocky for nerds" and I think they should have taken it this direction, but this is a movie that is interesting and constantly surprises you and you do not know what direction it will take you and therefore it gets a 6.5/10 from me. It had great potential, but it is a fun movie nevertheless.