The Thousands

‘Married couples under strain’ has proved fertile ground for filmmakers like Woody Allen (Husbands & Wives) and Ingmar Bergman (Scenes From A Marriage), but it is also a worn subject matter; whose success as the basis of a film is dependent on there being a director with a fresh enough approach to it. Anne Sewitsky’s Happy, Happy offers a level-headed and amusing look at marriage, family and infidelity.

Sweet, happy-go-lucky Kaja (Agnes Kittelsen) is married to the dour Eirik (Joachim Rafaelsen); they live in snowy, rural Norway and have a young son, Theodor. They lease out the house next door to Elisabeth (Maibritt Saerens), Sigve (Henrik Rafaelsen), and their adopted African son, Noa. After some amicable couple dinners, Kaja starts naked romping in the snow with Sigve (she hasn’t got any from Eirik in a year – he’s trying to stick his tongue down Sigve’s throat. There is also a bizarre sideplot involving the two sons, who play out master-servant routines from a book about slavery, and a tuxedoed Greek chorus that, even more bizarrely, mark the film’s phrases by singing traditional American spirituals (in English).

Sewitsky’s film is like the inverse of John Curran’s 2004 film about two married couples We Don’t Live Here Anymore – both films offer a wry inspection of how shitty and boring long term relationships can be, but Happy, Happy doesn’t resort to angst and heavy-handed emotion to do so. The neat resolution sees ‘nice girl’ Kaja ‘finish last’ – but when she finally locates her balls in the final scene you truly feel ‘happy, happy’ for her.