Since I’m in the middle of a course of antibiotics to kill off my bronchial infection, I took the excuse to spend most of the weekend in bed, watching movies on Netflix. Picked off a couple I’d been meaning to get to, the Norwegian movie Troll Hunter being one of them.
This is an interesting movie. The one thing you need to understand when you approach it—and I suspect some people will miss this—is that it’s a comedy. A particular kind of Scandinavian comedy, and an extreme example of its kind.
To a very large degree (and you’ve probably have noted it in my own writing), Scandinavian humor is dry. We love to tell a story that gets increasingly ridiculous, straight-faced. To put it plainly, we may be laughing with you or at you, or both, depending on your reaction. We judge your intelligence by how long it takes you to grasp the absurdity.
That’s what Troll Hunter does. It’s kind of like a cross between The Blair Witch Project and The Office.
At the beginning we are following three Norwegian college students doing a documentary journalism project. They think they’re following a bear poacher, which would be dangerous and ill-advised enough on the face of it. But when they follow him into the woods one night, he suddenly shouts, “TROLL!” and they find themselves scrambling away, with a huge, three-headed creature at their heels. They escape, but one of their members is bitten.
At first reluctant to explain himself, the Troll Hunter, Hans, suddenly changes his mind and agrees to let them film his hunt. There is a secret government agency, the Troll Security Service (he explains), which is entrusted with keeping the trolls in their natural reserves and keeping their existence secret. When a troll strays out of its range, it’s Hans’s job to kill it (with an ultraviolet light gun), destroy the evidence, and blame it on a bear.
Lately there’s been a rash of troll break-outs, and it looks as if there’s something wrong among the really big ones, up on the Jotunheim plateau. The group has increasingly harrowing encounters with the trolls, while Hans explains, matter-of-factly, how all sorts of ordinary elements of Norwegian life are actually troll-caused, rather than the “scientific” explanations people are taught in school. There’s a hilarious (though bloody and violent) scene involving billygoats, and I laughed out loud at a veterinarian’s explanation of the “scientific” reasons why trolls turn to stone or explode when exposed to light. That was as good an instance of pure doubletalk delivered with a straight face as I’ve ever seen in a film.
One thing our readers will note, if they watch Troll Hunter, is its treatment of Christianity. According to Hans, the legends are correct in saying that trolls can smell the blood of a Christian. Are we to take that as some kind expression of openness to the possibility that the gospel is true? Frankly, I doubt it. I suspect what they’re really saying is that Christianity is just as likely in the real world as the existence of trolls.
The conclusion of the film wasn’t entirely satisfying, in my opinion, although I realize that the “found footage” genre of horror film requires some open-endedness. Even so, one character’s departure seemed to me unaccountable, and the ultimate fate of the film team improbable.
But I thought it worth seeing, and the Norwegian scenery by itself was worth the time investment. Recommended for grownups who appreciate the most extreme form of deadpan humor.
I just watched this! I greatly enjoyed it, even though the friends I was watching it with kept asking me if I understood it without the subtitles, because apparently Swedish and Norse are exactly the same.
I really enjoyed it. It was fun, hilarious at times, and just a little dark. True Scandinavian humor. 🙂
Oh, and trolls? How can you go wrong with trolls?
I liked this one alot except for the shaky camera work within the car at the beginning. Does it actually ran alot in Norway? The trolls are really cool and you can tell they are inspired by the classic illustrators of trolls.
Yes, especially in western Norway it rains a whole lot, even through the winter. Bergen’s famous for it. And you’re right, the trolls look very much like Theodor Kittelsen’s classic fairy tale illustrations.
I wondered if this one was any good. It looked interesting.
Just saw this movie today. Wonderfully done, love the humor and the Trolls were excellent. Beautiful scenery. However, your quote “I suspect what they’re really saying is that Christianity is just as likely in the real world as the existence of trolls” What? Are you serious? Judge my intelligence as you will, but I have immediately grasped how absurd this statement is.
This film isn’t about trolls or Norway, it’s about belief. The evidence for trolls is everywhere, and yet covered up, because the disbelieving people won’t, in their comfortable world, believe the evidence before their eyes. The film crew thinks they have nailed it, with their footage, but they just don’t understand the depths to which human beings will descend. Isn’t the electric company’s chief man the same type who didn’t see the gas ovens, didn’t confront the Soviet Union, ignores the fact that his cheap Sony was made by slaves, and most of all, most of all, doesn’t believe in the creator God who is everywhere around us? No, they yuck it up. Trollhunter is about that.
“I suspect what they’re really saying is that Christianity is just as likely in the real world as the existence of trolls.” Yes. They are saying we’re ignoring the evidence before our eyes. that we always do. That we’re easy to fool. Because we want to be fooled. We want to think it’s cool that we believe in nothing. And the main thing we see in everything, everywhere, see the created trees in place of the downed trees, is the existence of a God the ‘kids’ deny so easily. Christian? Not us, boss.
Jan, I’d be happy to agree with your assessment, but I think that argument is weakened by the fact that the actor who plays the troll hunter is one of Norway’s most outspoken atheists.
I don’t think the actor controls the meaning of the film to the degree the writers and director does. Actors take work, that’s for sure. I doubt he knew the meaning of the film. I don’t think anyone but I do. Certain amount of irony in the casting, though. Find another hole in my argument. Oh, and hello.
Oh, it’s not a comedy, it’s an old school political film.
So, Jan, is this your analysis or do you have an inside scoop on the director’s intentions?
we just watched this last night! it was so fun, and i really loved hans’ jaded, “i don’t give a shit anymore” attitude. the trolls were fun, and i particularly enjoyed the explanations of the extra ‘heads’. the one thing we were confused on is this: if trolls can smell christian blood, wouldn’t that confirm christianity to be real? and hans doesn’t believe, so – i don’t know, it’s confusing. LOL our thought was, anyone can be a christian. my boyfriend is jewish but he could easily become a christian – how does christian blood smell different? i think it’s cool they tried to incorporate that particular fairy tale element, but i think it could’ve been done better. overall though we loved it, especially hans!