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Movies: Sex (2024) by Dag Johan Haugerud: The Chamber Piece on Identity

  • Writer: dailyentertainment95
    dailyentertainment95
  • 3 hours ago
  • 8 min read

Movie Summary: Masculinity Questioned in Oslo

  • Title: The Chimney Sweeps’ Crisis of Sexual Identity

  • Summary of Content: Sex is the first installment of director Dag Johan Haugerud's "Oslo trilogy" (followed by Love and Dreams). The film is a dialogue-heavy, intimate psychological drama that follows two middle-aged heterosexual colleagues, both chimney sweepers, whose masculinity and established lives are suddenly thrown into crisis. One man has an unexpected, casual sexual encounter with a male client, while the other begins having recurring dreams of David Bowie viewing him as a woman. The film meticulously tracks their long, candid conversations with each other and their wives, exploring themes of gender, identity, desire, and the fear of homosexuality in a low-key, non-melodramatic tone.

  • Movie Trend: Scandinavian Psychological Realism and Dialogue-Driven Chamber Drama. It aligns with the trend of intimate European cinema that relies almost exclusively on frank, verbose dialogue to explore complex philosophical and psychological themes (similar to Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage).

  • Social Trend: Queer Questioning in Midlife Heterosexuality and Fluid Identity. It addresses the contemporary social trend of examining the fluidity of sexual and gender identity, specifically by using middle-aged, traditionally masculine men to challenge the rigidity of established heterosexual norms and the concept of fixed identity.

  • Director Info: Directed and written by Dag Johan Haugerud, a Norwegian director and novelist known for ambitious, dialogue-heavy projects and a style often compared to Ingmar Bergman and Yasujirō Ozu.

  • Major Awards: The film has secured 10 wins & 11 nominations total at major festivals, including high praise for its script and its inclusion in major international film festival guides, confirming its critical status.

Why it is Trending: High-Concept Dialogue and Critical Acclaim

Sex is trending due to its unusually frank, intimate treatment of sexuality and its status as the critically acclaimed first part of an ambitious trilogy by a rising Norwegian auteur.

  • Radical Candor: The film's unique selling point is the tone of its dialogue: every conversation unfolds with "complete frankness and openness without ego or shame." This "almost utopian view" of human communication is highly refreshing for viewers weary of typical melodrama.

  • Timely Theme: It tackles the "seldom thoroughly explored themes of heterosexual fear of homosexuality and the deeper meanings of desire and cheating," making it a relevant commentary on modern masculinity and relationships.

  • Critical Praise: The high number of awards and nominations, along with a strong Metascore of 69, positions it as a major critical success within the European art-house circuit.

  • Auteur Ambition: As the first part of a highly anticipated trilogy (inspired by Kieslowski), the film attracts cinephiles interested in Haugerud’s long-form thematic exploration.

Why to Watch This Movie: Intellectual Depth and Non-Melodramatic Tone

The film is essential viewing for those who appreciate cinema driven by challenging ideas, thoughtful dialogue, and subtle aesthetics.

  • Unique Character Development: The film achieves "meaningful character development without relying on melodrama or external conflict," which is a rare feat in contemporary drama, focusing purely on internal, thoughtful shifts.

  • Visually Stylized Realism: Despite being dialogue-heavy, the film is described as "beautifully shot," using long takes and beautiful Ozu-like images of Oslo and the chimney sweepers on the roof to provide visual relief and context.

  • Thoughtful Exploration: It explores complex themes like self-identity, trust, and masculinity so thoughtfully that reviewers were left "thinking about it for days."

  • Humorous Relief: The heavy psychological dialogue is often balanced by comical relief, particularly through the conversations involving one of the chimney sweeper’s sons, adding charm to the "low key" approach.

What Trend is Followed?: Nordic Dialogue Chamber Drama

The movie follows the specialized trend of Nordic Dialogue Chamber Drama. This genre prioritizes minimal staging and action, utilizing long, unedited scenes of conversation to dissect psychological and social dynamics, heavily influenced by Scandinavian masters like Ingmar Bergman.

  • The Bergman Legacy: The film directly invokes Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, adopting the structure of intense, long conversations between couples to analyze relationship crisis and psychological breakdown.

  • Aesthetic of Minimalism: It adheres to a minimalist aesthetic, often shot in black and white and using restrained camera movements, placing the entire dramatic weight squarely on the quality of the writing and the performances.

  • Intellectual Challenge: The film engages the trend of making cinema for an audience that values the "deeper meanings of desire and cheating," prioritizing intellectual discourse over narrative action.

Movie Plot: The Two Chimney Sweepers' Converging Crises

The plot tracks the two converging internal crises that force the protagonists to question their fixed identities:

  • The Unexpected Encounter: One middle-aged, married chimney sweeper has a "surprise sexual encounter with a man" while working for a client. He finds the experience pleasant but is unsure how to define its impact or whether it constitutes cheating.

  • The Bowie Dreams: His colleague, also married and heterosexual, begins having recurring dreams of David Bowie looking at him as if he were a woman. He becomes fixated on the deeper meaning, even checking if his voice has become more feminine.

  • The Dialogue: Most of the film consists of long conversations where the two men discuss these experiences with each other and, separately, with their wives. The surprising element is the lack of shame or ego in the discussions.

  • The Spousal Crisis: The wives struggle more with the implications of the events than the men do, forcing them to confront their own heterosexual fears of homosexuality and infidelity.

  • The Lack of Resolution: The film deliberately goes "around in circles," lacking a clear ending or neat resolution, mirroring the ambiguous and ongoing nature of the characters' internal struggles and identity questions.

Director's Vision: The Utopian Portrayal of Candor

Director Dag Johan Haugerud's vision is to create an almost utopian cinematic space where difficult, taboo subjects can be discussed with complete, refreshing candor, challenging the default cinematic reliance on melodrama.

  • Dialogue as Development: Haugerud, a novelist, views dialogue as the primary vehicle for character development and conflict, resisting external plot points in favor of psychological exploration.

  • Aesthetic Juxtaposition: The vision contrasts the "heavy psychological nature" of the dialogue with moments of visual beauty—such as the Ozu-like city shots or the iconic image of the sweepers on the roof—to prevent the film from becoming purely theatrical.

  • Moral Neutrality: The director aims to row against the current anti-woke "zeitgeist" by portraying the protagonists as morally neutral about their experiences, pushing the audience to question their own preconceived notions about fidelity and sexuality.

Themes: Sexual Fluidity, Masculinity, and Fidelity

The central themes focus on the psychological conflict between internalized norms and unexpected desires:

  • The Fear of Homosexuality: The central theme is the fear and confusion within heterosexuality when faced with unexpected queer desire, challenging the characters' fixed masculine identities.

  • Fidelity Beyond Sex: The film raises complex questions about fidelity—whether having "meaningless sex with another man" counts as cheating, and the deeper meanings of desire, love, and trust in a long-term relationship.

  • Fluid Identity: It explores the notion of sexual and gender identity as fluid or undefined, rather than fixed categories, suggesting that one can have a queer experience without abandoning a heterosexual life structure.

  • The Failure of Melodrama: The thematic rejection of melodrama itself serves as a critique of how popular culture often simplifies and sensationalizes crises of identity and infidelity.

Key Success Factors: High Critical Acclaim and Timeliness

The film's success is driven by its high artistic ambition, critical support, and topical relevance:

  • Auteur Vision: The film's place as the debut of an ambitious, high-concept trilogy ensures strong interest from critics and film festivals seeking intellectual and artistic cinema.

  • Critical Consensus: The strong Metascore and awards confirm the high quality of the script and direction, establishing Haugerud as a significant European filmmaker.

  • Topical Honesty: The refreshing honesty and candor used to discuss complex themes of sexuality and masculinity resonate with a contemporary audience craving genuine, non-sensational dialogue about these subjects.

Awards and Nominations: Focus on Film Festival Recognition

The film has secured 10 wins & 11 nominations total at major international festivals, including those associated with its debut (likely the Berlinale or Cannes), and national Norwegian film awards. The recognition is heavily focused on the Screenplay, Best Film, and Ensemble Acting categories for its distinctive dialogue-driven format.

Critics reception: Praise for Style, Confusion over Substance

The 44 critic reviews are strongly positive but reflect the film's structural challenge:

  • Chamber Masterpiece: Critics praised it as a "chamber masterpiece" that is "Smart and tight," celebrating its thorough exploration of seldom-discussed themes.

  • Aesthetic Quality: The visuals were praised, noting the film is "beautifully shot" and features "Ozu like in between shots" of Oslo, confirming its artistic finesse.

  • Pacing Critique: Reviewers frequently mentioned the film's reliance on "heavy dialogue" made the film "very slow" and that it "never really gets into gear," suggesting the narrative pace is deliberately challenging for mainstream viewers.

Reviews: Polarizing Audience Reaction Driven by Execution

  • IMDb User Rating: The film holds a moderate user rating of 6.6/10 from 2K votes. This solid score reflects a highly polarized audience, with viewers rating it either 10/10 for its "unique" candor and thoughtfulness, or 4/10 to 5/10 for its perceived lack of plot and circular dialogue.

  • Thematic Resonance: User reviews confirm the film successfully sparks philosophical discussion, noting they were "swept away by the simple message" despite the slow pace.

What Movie Trend film is following: Nordic Dialogue Chamber Drama

The film is following the specialized movie trend of Nordic Dialogue Chamber Drama, utilizing minimalist staging and extensive, frank conversations to conduct a profound, non-melodramatic investigation into the psychological and social pressures surrounding identity and relationships.

What Big Social Trend is following: The De-Stigmatization of Sexual Fluidity

The big social trend the film is following is the De-Stigmatization of Sexual Fluidity and the questioning of fixed gender roles. It contributes to the cultural conversation that explores how unexpected queer experiences can affect even traditionally defined heterosexual individuals, promoting understanding and acceptance.

What Consumer Trend is following: Demand for Intellectual, Dialogue-Driven Art-House Film

The consumer trend followed is the Demand for Intellectual, Dialogue-Driven Art-House Film. Audiences are attracted to highly ambitious European features that prioritize complex, verbose scripts and philosophical themes over plot-driven action, seeking content that provides a genuine "chamber masterpiece" for thoughtful discussion.

Final Verdict: A Smart, Unflinching Look at the Fluid Self

Sex is a smart, unflinching, and stylistically bold piece of psychological cinema that uses long, candid dialogue to dissect the fragile boundaries of masculinity, fidelity, and sexual identity. While its deliberate pace may challenge audiences expecting conventional drama, the film is a refreshing, intellectually rewarding achievement that successfully portrays an almost utopian view of human communication in the face of emotional crisis.

Key Trend highlighted – The effective use of dialogue-driven realism to create a compelling, non-melodramatic examination of sexual and psychological fluidity within traditional relationships.

Key Insight – The film demonstrates that the real dramatic tension lies not in external conflict, but in the internal philosophical struggle to reconcile personal desire with societal and self-imposed expectations of identity.

Similar movies: Psychological Dramas of Intimacy and Identity

  • Scenes from a Marriage (1974): The seminal Swedish drama by Ingmar Bergman, focusing almost exclusively on the intimate, often agonizing conversations between a husband and wife through marital crisis.

  • Oslo, August 31st (2011): A classic piece of contemporary Norwegian cinema (not in Haugerud's trilogy) that uses a realist aesthetic to focus intensely on one character's internal, existential crisis over a single day.

  • Blue Valentine (2010): An emotionally intense American drama that uses non-linear time and raw, intimate dialogue to explore the decay and memory of a relationship.


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