Odd Little Man (2000) - full transcript
Little Oddemann uses every means available to find Jesus, including his slingshot. The film takes us to Norway in the late 30's, where we meet a series of burlesque and humorous characters, whose antics convince Oddemann that growing up may be a bad idea. Yet Oddemann finds there are certain rewards to being grown-up, such as partying and chasing women, that merit closer examination. The film is based on a book of childhood reminiscences by beloved Norwegian poet and Jazz lyricist Odd Børretzen.
I didn't know it then,...
but now, all these years later,...
I believe that the day the wall clock stopped...
was the last day I lived in the world of my childhood.
The authorities will stage an air-raid drill...
on the 31st of August.
All households must be prepared.
Will they be dropping bombs?
No.
It's simply a drill.
During the drill,...
the military will test their equipment.
Live ammunition will be used.
Fire sirens and church bells will sound the alarm.
You must then immediately...
go to your shelters.
Fire Chief Lydersen?
Thank you.
I shall now demonstrate the signals.
First: the signal for "Take Cover!".
A long, continuous wail.
Now: the signal for "All Clear!".
Also a long, continuous wail.
Come on!
Jenny, bring the kids!
Where's Kristian?
Kristian, hurry up!
~ Come on!
~ I had to wee!
Wet your pants! Come on!
~ Lord Jesus, help me!
~ I'm sure He will.
Sit in the corner. Ouch --- the ceiling's low!
~ Oddeman, is that you?
~ Ouch! No, it's me.
Did anyone bring a light?
~ There'll be power next time.
~ What else did we forget?
~ Do we have any food?
~ Yeah, I'm hungry.
~ A deck of cards?
~ Sure.
We can't play cards with a war on.
No.
Looks like the war's over.
Is there target practice now?
~ There's cold beer in the well.
~ Mother...
Oh, sorry.
~ Lord Jesus!
~ I didn't mean...
Why did the sirens stop? Isn't it a war?
The army wants us to know their cannons can go...
boom!
A plane engine.
A plane engine.
I can't see.
You'll see better from there.
It was the last time, up there on my father's shoulders,...
that I had the world of my childhood beneath me.
I could see everyone, everyone I loved and trusted.
I started thinking about the Heavenly Host.
How would they cope now?
They were firing at Heaven with live ammunition.
Did the heavenly host have to take cover, just like us?
And what about Jesus with that ring around His head?
Not a good idea to have it lit up just now.
They might mistake Jesus for an aerial target.
Dad?
Dad?
Is Jesus bulletproof?
I believe it was that same day...
that the wall clock stopped.
Before that, I controlled time.
I wound the clock every day after breakfast.
I controlled time in the world of my childhood.
~ *THE DAY I GOT JESUS...*
~ But that ended...
~ * WITH A SLINGSHOT!*
~ the day the clock stopped.
Three! It's three o'clock!
It's three!
It's three o'clock. It's three o'clock. It's three o'clock.
I think it's three o'clock.
~ It's three o'clock.
~ Relax, Oddeman.
What are you doing?
Turnip...
Turnip dick.
Nobody could carve turnip willies like Kristian,...
my brother's friend.
He must have been to an art show...
to see what the big ones looked like.
Kristian always said "turnip dicks".
I didn't dare.
I decided I could be as good as Kristian...
or anyone else.
I tried my best...
but the others' turnip dicks always turned out better than mine.
No...
~ What's going on?
~ Oddeman's milking a cow.
There aren't any cows here.
~ Help!
~ Run, Oddeman!
Run!
Run!
You were brave.
~ I didn't milk the cow.
~ You were still brave.
Never do that again.
See what Oddeman did?
Kristian, how did you get so good at making willies?
Cut away all the extra bits.
Boys, look how many medals Oscar Mathisen has!
Let's see.
~ Wow!
~ Let's see!
There's no room for any more.
Yeah, put one on his bum.
I've met Ivar Ballangrud.
Oh? Where?
~ Behind the church.
~ Did you wave?
Yes. He'll get as many medals as Mathisen.
Maybe more.
My brother always saw incredible things when I wasn't there.
Once on the way home he saw a fire.
A house burned down.
Only the staircase was left, my brother said.
Once he saw a plane land on the road.
Three pilots stepped out, speaking a foreign language.
When it was sunny, I tried to walk in his shadow.
I followed him like a dog.
There we are. Anything else?
A tin of nigger shoe polish.
Black.
Nigger shoe polish.
Aladdin silver polish.
I'll have two of those.
Anything else?
One Chinaman tea.
Of course...Chinaman tea.
The pastor's wife...
always took her time shopping at Holt & Holt.
My brother said it was because she'd hoped to marry Holt & Holt...
but he chose someone else and this was her revenge.
Holt & Holt became famous later when he invented self-service.
"The courage and boldness of the barefoot Ethiopians...
"has amazed the entire world.
"We are following...
"developments in Abyssinia."
Why do the negroes go barefoot? Can't they afford shoes?
Their feet are so tough they don't need shoes.
They can walk on knives and red-hot coals.
Oh, how I wanted to be a negro warrior in the Ethiopian jungle.
A clever, fearless warrior...
who fooled the dumb Italians.
But the warriors were always my brother and Kristian.
Help-a me!
I was always the Italian.
Always the Italian capitano and the target.
I died a lot.
"Petter was the clever one.
"He could swim already.
"Kalla and Elma were waiting on the beach.
"What a great pair!"
Tomorrow is April Fool's Day --- watch out!
Why?
You don't want to be fooled. Remember last year?
No.
Kristian and I said Lindberg landed here.
And you raced off to see, like a bullet from a gun.
No, I don't remember.
It's no fun fooling people who can't remember.
You were too young.
Now that you say it...Lindberg does ring a bell.
Watch out. Everyone will be trying it tomorrow.
~ Who should I fool?
~ Work that out for yourself.
Good night.
Don't touch that window.
~ But it's cold.
~ Wimp.
~ Swap beds, then?
~ Can't --- this one's bigger.
My brother always wanted the window open.
I wanted it closed...
so ghosts and the Heavenly Host couldn't get in,...
even though they could get in anywhere.
But my brother wanted it open.
He was training to be Fridtjof Nansen on the ice floes.
He had to practice for the cold.
But if he wanted to be cold,...
why couldn't he sleep next to the window?
Oddeman, you must be careful!
April Fool!
Here's Dad!
~ Where?
~ April Fool.
~ When's Dad coming home?
~ He'll be here soon.
Can't you sleep, Oddeman?
I was asleep. Now I'm awake.
It isn't even night yet. You should try to sleep now.
Grown-ups don't understand.
We want to get up: "Off to bed!". We want to sleep: "Up you get!".
Come in here.
Did that hurt?
Did you know that children are born knowing all the secrets of the Universe?
When you were born, you knew everything.
Like my brother?
Much more than him or Dad or me or anyone else.
You knew all the secrets.
When you were born, when your eyes opened,...
you were about to reveal all the secrets.
Know what happened then?
An angel came down to Earth.
He placed his finger...
against your upper lip, right there.
He pressed once, hard.
You were so surprised, you forgot all the secrets.
Instead, you screamed long and loud...
to let the world know what we'd missed.
That's from an angel's finger.
Good night.
Do you want to sleep here?
It's OK.
Good night.
You didn't press hard enough, Angel.
It's 10 o'clock! It's 10 o'clock!
Oddeman...
It's 10 o'clock!
Dad's coming.
~ Is today April Fool's Day?
~ No. Look, there he is.
~ What sort of trouble?
~ Tricks...
~ OK. Need a hand?
~ No, I'm fine.
Dad, Dad, Dad...!
Dad!
Hello, young man.
You're getting heavier, Oddeman.
~ Any news up there?
~ Yes.
~ It's 10 o'clock!
~ What did you say?
Sure about that?
Mine's running slow. I'll have to adjust it.
Ten, you said? There.
~ Hi, Mom!
~ We must greet her nicely.
Good day, Madam.
Not exactly getting any lighter, either...
We honor You and thank You, God,...
for the food we receive in Jesus's name. Amen.
Lots to look forward to tonight.
Like what?
A bit of this and that, both for young...
and old.
Right, Mom?
When Dad had been away a long time,...
he and Mom sometimes needed a bit of help to get starred.
Sit up properly.
Taste this.
It's good.
An orange. Tastes like the sun.
"Nansen's...
"Gru...Grueling...
"Journey to the North Pole."
"A Hero"...the North Pole! Read, Dad!
"They were about to cross a hole in the ice, but Johansen slipped.
"He fell into the water.
"The air temperature was minus 40.
"With Nansen's help, he got back onto the ice.
"Johansen wanted to get out of his wet clothes...
"but Nansen wanted to keep going.
"'Are you a sissy, Johansen?' asked Nansen."
~ Are you a sissy, Johansen?
~ Asked Nansen.
"Johansen clenched his teeth and followed Nansen."
~ What's the time, Oddeman?
~ Eight.
We'll carry on tomorrow.
Right, then...Good night!
Is it cold at the North Pole?
Yes, it's cold, Oddeman. It's cold as Hell.
But Hell isn't cold, is it?
It's cold as Hell at the North Pole, Oddeman.
How long were they there?
Just over a year, I think.
Know how we don't call friends Mister?
Nansen and Johansen called each other Mister...
until on New Year's Eve, Nansen said, "Let's drop the Mister".
Imagine, a year, up north.
Up on the shitty ice.
Just like us, Dad.
~ Two men.
~ Up to our necks in shit.
Georg, get out of here. You're filthy.
~ You have to be clean around here.
~ Guess I'll have to wait.
Me and Dad are going for a walk, Mom.
Today, Dear Brother, we'll open it a bit extra...
in honor of Nansen.
~ Can't we swap places?
~ No way.
I'm sure Nansen slept next to the tent flap.
Filthy, am I?
Yes.
You'll wake the kids.
What's this? What are you doing?
~ We're changing things around.
~ His bed is bigger.
Must you do it now?
~ Yeah! He's...
~ Shhh! We have to.
~ What's going on?
~ I'll be right there.
Pull there.
That's when I found out...
that you can get people to do what you want...
as long as you give them a good reason for doing so.
Help!
If you know what I mean.
Will the pastor be going up on the balcony?
~ The pulpit, Oddeman.
~ Up there again today?
He's up in the pulpit every Sunday so we can see and hear him.
~ Ready?
~ Yes. What will he talk about?
Some sinner who deserves it.
I wasn't sure what a sinner was.
~ Beisebeisa, maybe?
~ Why Beisebeisa?
But I was sure I was one,...
and I think my brother thought he was a sinner, too.
I asked him once.
Help!
I've got no problems with God or Jesus.
He said he had no problems with God or Jesus.
I had my doubts. After all, I knew my brother.
What will he talk about today?
The sheep thief.
It's his turn today.
Poor sinner.
Who is the thief in our midst?
Who is the thief?
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property."
Thus the Good Book says.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property."
Is that not clear enough?
The Lord, our Shepherd,...
cannot be everywhere.
Sometimes, He must leave...
His flock to fend for itself.
It's the sheep thief.
That is where Satan abides, from this day forth.
Scripture speaks of poor sinners.
~ So he didn't pick you?
~ Boys!
Scripture speaks of poor sinners.
>From that day on, my brother always fainted in church.
Dad tried on two more Sundays...
but my brother always collapsed...
before the pastor got started talking about sinners.
Bror...Bror!
~ You can go on now.
~ Thank you.
As I was saying...
Satan is a crafty devil.
~ Bror, wake up. We're outside.
~ Wake up.
Three times. Three times.
We can't take him if he keeps fainting.
He can't sit still that long. It's his blood. He needs iron.
I'm not taking him to church until he gets some iron.
Oddeman, what are you doing now?
What are these for?
I don't want to be low on iron like my brother.
After that, we didn't go to church when Dad was home.
I thought that was OK.
The church belonged to the grown-up world.
Grown-ups never seemed to have any fun.
On Sundays, for example, when they had time for fun,...
they put on dark clothes and stood around.
I didn't want to grow up.
Grown-ups never laughed.
Mom, Dad, and Kristian's dad were the only ones who laughed.
The others looked serious and had tired faces.
When grown-ups talked,...
it was about the war in Ethiopia and prices and money...
and the Communists wanting to sell Norway to Russia.
Then they said, "When will it all end?"
~ Is it possible not to grow up?
~ What do you mean?
So we don't grow.
No. We either grow up or we die.
Oddeman?
What are you doing?
Mom, will it be long before I grow up?
Do I have to?
Of course you'll grow up.
~ When?
~ If you only knew.
~ Not before summer's over?
~ No. Oddeman, why are you on your head?
I don't want to grow up. I'm stopping the growth.
You're a crazy little character, Oddeman.
Mom shouldn't have said that.
One thing we had plenty of was crazy people.
How do you know if you're crazy?
Crazy people don't know. No one dares tell them.
A lot of crazies make faces without knowing it.
I knew there were a lot of crazies around back then.
No one had told them they were crazy.
I decided to stop walking in my brother's shadow...
and to stop talking to myself and walking in zigzags.
Aside from that, there wasn't much I could do.
If you're crazy, you're crazy. That's the way it is.
See, guys --- if you get a hole in your head like Oddeman,...
then you're finished.
One hole and you'll go crazy, guaranteed.
Stir-crazy --- there's no hope for you.
One crack in your skull, and...
Watch out.
Watch out!
Everyone must watch out!
Dangerous times...
That's Beisebeisa. He's crazy, too. Real crazy.
Dangerous times!
Watch out for him, Oddeman.
In my childhood world, the darkness would breathe.
You could hear it.
Sometimes, at night,...
there was something alive in the attic.
It sounded like a man with a wooden leg.
I heard him, more than once.
But no one would believe me, not even Mom.
Listen! There he is! Listen!
It's just a branch.
But it's not that windy.
Listen! Someone's up there!
Go up and look, then.
Don't wake me again.
Go up and look, indeed.
What was the point?
What if I went up, didn't see anyone,...
and then heard it again?
That would mean...
there was an invisible man with a wooden leg.
And that certainly wasn't any better.
Oh, there was much to be afraid of in my childhood world.
Witches, for example.
Kristian's mom was a witch.
Mom said so once, when she didn't know I was listening.
So that's what you're looking at.
No...I was just looking out when Mrs. Hansen appeared.
She's a Godless witch.
Aren't you ever going to forgive her?
Jenny...Jenny!
I wasn't too sure why Mrs. Hansen was a witch.
But I clearly remembered the last time Mom visited the Hansens.
About time!
How can you afford a car like this?
You'll pay for it when you get my next play.
That play will never get written, Lazybones!
Kristian's dad managed a theatre in the city, I think.
Kristian's mom was a famous ballerina.
Who's thirsty?
What are you doing?
Your lips, your smile...
Your breasts will be famous --- I'll paint them!
I can't wait to be a grown-up.
What?
"Wine, women, and song..." That's what dad says.
"Being grown-up means endless wine, women, and song."
~ That's something, guys.
~ No way.
I don't want to grow up.
That evening, I started wondering...
if maybe the adult world wasn't quite so dreary after all.
The grown-ups were laughing and beautiful.
Mom was the prettiest of all.
Don't just stand there --- let's dance!
Come on. The orchestra's playing great tunes.
You can't just sit in the corner.
Right?
I've warmed her up --- you can take over.
~ Here you are, Jenny.
~ Nice poster.
Oh my God. That was a wonderful role.
I read about it.
A scandal, fortunately. Karl was so happy.
Cause a scandal and the audience flocks in.
What's this? It's odd...
Line told me to ask you what this is.
Well, let's see...
What you have there, dear neighbor,...
is an object that few women get to hold in public.
But what is it?
To put it bluntly,...
what you have there is a whale's dick.
~ What did you say?
~ A whale's dick.
You could cause a lot of trouble with that.
Thanks for having me.
Are you coming?
I'll fix it.
Oddeman, we're going home.
But Mom...
Straight away. Off to bed.
Jenny, come on...
~ It wasn't all that bad, was it?
~ Did they laugh at you?
~ Come on.
~ No.
~ You won't come?
~ No!
That night, my brother told me about the social order.
On top there's Mom, with Dad right below.
They have the power and wisdom to decide everything.
He used words he'd learned at Sunday School.
Below Mom and Dad, you have God...and Jesus.
He'd made a Pillar of Power.
They're up there...looking down at us.
No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it.
Do they see everything I do?
Not as well as Mom.
They have helpers...the Heavenly Host.
There are milli-billions of them.
They're watching all the time. They report to God and Jesus.
Below the Heavenly Host, you have me.
I may not know as much as Mom, Dad, God, or Jesus...
but I sure as Hell come close.
Oh --- sorry.
Where am I?
All the way down there --- at the bottom.
~ That's where.
~ How do I get up?
You can't, unless you become a pastor or a policeman.
Don't touch the window.
I wouldn't dream of it, now that we'd swapped places.
But I dreamt of the Pillar of Power.
It was heavy on my stomach, squeezing me flat.
Is it the Heavenly Host...
that keeps me from disappearing into the ground?
Luckily, I woke up before I was flattened.
And Mom was there.
Just a dream.
I'll tuck you in.
When she was at her nicest, Mom spoke in her dialect.
A dozing bud, a peaceful lamb...
and sleeping little girls...
and sleeping little boys...
and little sleeping Oddeman...
You shut the window.
~ I didn't!
~ Then who did?
You know not to touch it.
I'm going to get you.
Boys...
Are you leaving already?
~ Dad's leaving.
~ Do you have to?
I have to catch the bus. Can you give me a hand?
Good day. May I ask what's going on?
~ It's just a drill.
~ A drill.
Thank you.
Dad, has the war started?
No war, Oddeman. It won't reach us.
~ Promise to help out while I'm away. Promise?
~ Yes.
~ Look after Mom for me.
~ Yes.
You're the boss.
I'll be home as soon as I can.
Keep an eye on the clock, Oddeman.
~ Come back soon!
~ Bye.
Out of the way! Go home!
~ It's Beisebeisa.
~ Eye on the clock, Oddeman.
~ Has the war started?
~ Watch out for him.
No war, Oddeman. It won't reach us.
Dangerous times.
Dangerous people everywhere.
There you are.
I can hear you. Show yourselves!
We little folk...must take care.
We little folk must take care.
Dangerous times...are coming.
But life went on, with or without soldiers.
Every Sunday, there was Sunday School.
The Bible is a big book, so we needed to get an early start.
Silence! Off with your caps.
The organist's husband was an electrician.
Today, we're going to talk about Heaven,...
Earth, and Hell.
In Hell, it's terribly hot.
The sinners who go there burn up in a flash.
But first, let's sing a song.
>From this, we learn that God is highest of all.
>From up there, He rules Heaven and Earth and...
That's not true.
Quiet!
It's not true.
~ Aren't you telling?
~ Telling what?
Stand up.
My brother says Mom and Dad are on top,...
then comes God and Jesus.
Right?
I won't have it, Bror.
Gold star.
Understood?
Here.
You don't get a star.
Bror, you can have one of my stars.
This one's dangling. It's almost come loose.
Do you mean that?
I don't need it.
Give it to me, Oddeman.
Mine's almost empty.
The Grimstad Times has published an astonishing report.
More than 100 people claim to have seen Jesus yesterday.
He came in over Grimstad Fjord, escorted by the Heavenly Host.
He then assumed the form of the Holy Grail...
which hung shining over the fjord.
Local journalists have spoken to eyewitnesses...
Mom, Bror, come here. They've seen Jesus in Grimstad.
They have Jesus experts on the radio. Come on!
I was not present in person...
but I have spoken by telephone with the local police...
about the incident.
Regrettably, for believers,...
it was most likely a meteorological phenomenon.
~ A weather phenomenon?
~ Exactly.
Most likely a play of light in the upper atmosphere...
~ Wasn't it Jesus, then?
~ Shhh! Listen!
But the witnesses were in different locations.
Can such a phenomenon look the same to so many people?
It's more probable than Jesus gliding over Grimstad Fjord.
It wasn't Jesus.
The Chief Meteorologist wasn't sure it wasn't Jesus gliding over the fjord in Grimstad.
He didn't convince me.
The Chief Meteorologist wasn't even in Grimstad at the time.
What would he, a meteorologist, know about the ways of Jesus?
~ How's it going?
~ Lousy.
I don't think you'll see Him.
"No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it."
I've never seen one fall.
Have you ever seen Jesus?
Certain things are better left unexplained.
It should be enough to believe your own eyes.
Oddeman...
The Devil!
Wake up! The Devil's in the kitchen!
No, don't go down there!
~ The Devil's here!
~ What are you up to now?
Mother, you're here already?
You're late getting up.
What are you doing with my slingshot?
Just look at these fine boys.
I thought you were the Devil, Grandma.
I arrived by boat yesterday.
Praise the Lord, Who took me under His wing.
He made the sea flat.
Completely flat, boys.
The Chief Meteorologist believed in the weather.
Grandma believed in God.
It was that summer, the last summer of my childhood...
that I learned that grown-ups believe in different things.
That there wasn't just one law in the world for grown-ups.
Grandma dressed in black.
She was kind.
She just didn't want us, her daughter's kids,...
to end up in Hell.
Because it's hot there.
Stop that whistling. Immediately!
Whistling is the Devil's violin!
When someone whistled, Jesus cries!
So you must stop it. Immediately!
Grandma thought whistling would send us to Hell.
So she was adamant that we shouldn't whistle.
Has she seen Jesus?
~ What was he wearing?
~ His everyday Jesus clothes.
Oddeman stole my slingshot.
Oh? Why?
"No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it."
Oddeman says that if we shoot a sparrow, Jesus will show up.
It's in the Bible.
Come on!
Whoever hits the can first shoots the sparrow.
Give it to Oddeman.
~ Jeez!
~ Wow...!
~ Wow.
~ You shoot.
~ There!
~ Hit it!
It has to fall down if we want to see Jesus.
~ Yes!
~ Hit it! Shoot!
~ Quick! Look for Jesus!
~ He'll come down from above.
~ There He is!
~ Where?
There.
Gee! Have we seen Jesus?
The sparrow's gone.
Boys...hey, boys!
Did you see that hawk? It was huge!
Hurry! It's Jesus!
~ Give me the slingshot.
~ No. It's Jesus.
Don't be silly. There's a reward for hawks.
~ What's up?
~ The elastic broke.
The elastic?
I knew it was no coincidence the elastic broke just then.
I wasn't sure of much, but I was sure about that.
No one could tell me it was a coincidence.
I had killed that tiny sparrow, one of God's little creatures.
That little sparrow was on my conscience...
day and night for an entire month.
Or at least for several days and nights.
Wake up.
You've been dreaming.
Mom, are we the poorest people here?
~ Are we what?
~ Are we the poorest?
"We're neither the richest nor the poorest."
That's what Grandma says.
Maybe we can give the poor some food.
And some toys.
That's kind of you. We'll see what we can do.
Let's get up early tomorrow.
You must go to sleep now. Good night. Sleep well.
It was right that Mom was on top of the Pillar of Power.
She belonged there.
But I'm glad she didn't know about the sparrow.
Is Holt & Holt rich, Mom?
Is Dr. Mikkelsen rich?
Syversen has a coat with a fur collar. Is he rich?
But the tunnel workers are poor.
They're poor.
Why do they work in a tunnel if it makes them poor?
When we went to find the poor people, to be kind...
we had to go past the Workers' Movement.
They were called that because they were always moving.
They were busy wrapping up the country...
to sell it to the Russians. That's what people said.
How could such scraggy people wrap up the whole country before selling it?
The people here didn't seem to even be able to wrap a lantern.
Mom, someone's coming.
Hello.
~ We can't buy anything.
~ Oh, no, we're not selling.
We've brought food and some of Oddeman's things that he wants to give you.
Have you got tobacco?
No, unfortunately.
These people were obviously poor.
I didn't even need to ask.
Instead, I prayed that the Heavenly Host was watching...
and paying close attention, for now I was being kind.
I hoped it made up for killing the sparrow.
And some magazines.
~ Oddeman...
~ Let go.
They must have been wrapping up Norway somewhere else.
~ Oddeman, why did you go inside?
~ To look around.
I couldn't really tell her what I was looking for...
was wrapping paper, string, and labels.
That summer, I realized that grown-ups didn't know everything.
Grandma feared Hell.
Everyone feared the war. "How will it end?"
Air-raid sirens kept going off, and so on.
Amundsen, Nansen, and Johansen were dead.
Even Ivar Ballangrud and Dad couldn't handle everything.
Or God.
Indoors in this lovely weather?
Is that what Jesus looked like when you saw him?
Yes.
~ Did He have a ring?
~ Huh?
A glowing ring over His head?
Oh, yes. Jesus always wears His halo.
What you're calling a ring, Oddeman, is a halo.
Jesus never goes anywhere without His halo.
It's always switched on.
Yes, He's always got it switched on.
Are you going to paint the whole church?
No. I just do a few pews every Tuesday.
I have to be sure they'll dry by Sunday.
People get angry if they get paint on their best clothes.
What do you want?
Can I look around since the church is empty?
Don't go into the pulpit, and watch out for those pews.
Are you allowed to whistle?
Just as well Grandma wasn't here.
What would she have said?
It was strange being alone in a church.
Without the noise, the coughing, and the psalms.
And without the angry pastor.
He was probably at home, saving up his breath, preparing for next Sunday.
Someone must have seen Jesus.
In all the pictures I'd seen, He always looked the same.
That was no coincidence,...
regardless of what that Chief Meteorologist said.
But what was Jesus going to do now that they were shelling Heaven?
And in winter? Did He wear sandals and that ring?
That ring would look funny with snow on it.
And Jesus surely wasn't funny.
You know that ring that Jesus has, the one that glows?
When it snows, does the snow pile up on it?
My brother took his time answering.
It never snows when Jesus is out walking.
That was the first time I wondered whether he knew anything...
or if he just made things up.
Look, you can find your way anywhere.
You can't get lost with a compass.
You just follow the needle.
We're going to the North Pole.
I'm Nansen. Kristian is Johansen.
I want to go, too. I can be Amundsen.
Idiot. Amundsen didn't go to the North Pole.
He went to the South Pole. Much easier.
No it's not.
I refused to accept that Amundsen's journey was easy.
The North Pole.
The South Pole.
Uphill to the North Pole.
Downhill to the South Pole.
Sissies!
And it gets warmer the further south you go.
The North Pole is freezing.
Yes, but I want to come.
Nansen and Johansen couldn't take Amundsen.
But they took a dog.
Northwards, Mr. Johansen. Northwards!
I'll follow you anywhere, Mr. Nansen.
Mush, Ulv!
On the other side of the stream, we reached the ice pack...
and the going got tough.
Nansen and Johansen struggled on.
So did their dog.
They were soon having some problems cooperating.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
I can ski as well as you.
"As well as you, Mr. Nansen."
May I remind you we've haven't stopped saying "Mister" yet?
Nansen and Johansen decided they'd reached 86° North.
It was time to eat.
The dog Ulv didn't know it was his last meal.
Mr. Nansen, we must kill the dog before we go on.
Correct. Says so in the book.
This was news to Ulv.
He'd thought he'd get to see the Pole.
This is a job for you, Mr. Johansen. Make it quick.
You've been a good companion, Ulv.
Keep still.
It was OK to be a dead dog.
I didn't have to struggle on to the Pole.
~ I want to go home.
~ We've lost the compass.
Hurry up, Oddeman!
~ We can't stay here.
~ It's so cold.
We'll stay until the wind drops.
Come on!
Come!
Nansen?
Johansen?
Come on. I know where to go.
Come on!
Wait!
Boys!
~ Oddeman!
~ Kristian!
Bror!
Kristian!
Kristian!
It's Beisebeisa.
~ We must go into the forest.
~ Come on!
Here!
They're here!
Where's Oddeman? Where's Oddeman?
Goodbye, Nansen!
Dad!
~ Oddeman!
~ Dad!
In the trial, I was pardoned...
because of my age and lack of maturity.
My brother was grounded.
As for Kristian, I don't know, but we all learned a lesson...
about following in the ski tracks of heroes.
Tarzan is a hero, Tarzan is a hero...
Tarzan doesn't count. Only real people do.
They must be Norwegian. Like skaters.
Like Sonja Henie.
No! No girl heroes.
Think Ballangrud and Mathisen. They're heroes.
Hey, guys...the Bronze Medalists!
Yeah, the Bronze medalists!
~ Do the commentary!
~ Yeah, do it.
No.
Live from Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
The crowd is tense with excitement.
For Germany, this match is a shock.
All the odds were against Norway, but David is challenging Goliath.
A free kick to Germany. Siffling takes it.
Lots of elbowing, plenty of shoving.
Munkert against Eriksen. The referee should step in...
Quiet!
The ball heads towards goal. Siffling kicks over the defenders.
Move the pole.
Move the pole. Hurry!
Back...
Back! All the way back!
Quiet!
The Colonel outsmarts Dickens.
Bagman to Cookie. Cookie to the Colonel.
The Colonel bypasses the German defense...
Franzen is open. The Colonel passes the ball to the Poet.
Yes, he shoots!
Isaksen scores!
Goal for Norway!
It's a sensation.
People can't believe their eyes...
Maybe it isn't true that grown-ups are always boring...
but they sure need a big push to get going.
The world of my childhood lasted forever.
I knew exactly when I entered the world.
That's on my christening certificate.
But exactly when I left the world of my childhood,...
it's hard to say.
Perhaps it's the day the clock on the wall stopped.
A year in the world of our childhood...
lasts longer than anywhere else.
The summers, the summers...
they could last as long as a lifetime in other worlds.
A day could last an entire week.
The world of my childhood was a wonderful world,...
filled with wonders, filled with mysteries,...
things I can no longer see as a grown-up.
There are unconfirmed reports of incidents...
involving German and Polish troops...
But the world of my childhood was also filled with perils and fears.
I don't think I would return, even if I could.
England and France are declaring war...
Over the years I've traveled to many places...
and sailed across many oceans.
I'd like to go back to some of those places.
But I can't return to the world of my childhood,...
either as an explorer or as a tourist,...
even if I wanted to.
I simply can't.
The world of my childhood no longer exists.
The world of my childhood died at the moment my childhood ended.
Strange, isn't it?
but now, all these years later,...
I believe that the day the wall clock stopped...
was the last day I lived in the world of my childhood.
The authorities will stage an air-raid drill...
on the 31st of August.
All households must be prepared.
Will they be dropping bombs?
No.
It's simply a drill.
During the drill,...
the military will test their equipment.
Live ammunition will be used.
Fire sirens and church bells will sound the alarm.
You must then immediately...
go to your shelters.
Fire Chief Lydersen?
Thank you.
I shall now demonstrate the signals.
First: the signal for "Take Cover!".
A long, continuous wail.
Now: the signal for "All Clear!".
Also a long, continuous wail.
Come on!
Jenny, bring the kids!
Where's Kristian?
Kristian, hurry up!
~ Come on!
~ I had to wee!
Wet your pants! Come on!
~ Lord Jesus, help me!
~ I'm sure He will.
Sit in the corner. Ouch --- the ceiling's low!
~ Oddeman, is that you?
~ Ouch! No, it's me.
Did anyone bring a light?
~ There'll be power next time.
~ What else did we forget?
~ Do we have any food?
~ Yeah, I'm hungry.
~ A deck of cards?
~ Sure.
We can't play cards with a war on.
No.
Looks like the war's over.
Is there target practice now?
~ There's cold beer in the well.
~ Mother...
Oh, sorry.
~ Lord Jesus!
~ I didn't mean...
Why did the sirens stop? Isn't it a war?
The army wants us to know their cannons can go...
boom!
A plane engine.
A plane engine.
I can't see.
You'll see better from there.
It was the last time, up there on my father's shoulders,...
that I had the world of my childhood beneath me.
I could see everyone, everyone I loved and trusted.
I started thinking about the Heavenly Host.
How would they cope now?
They were firing at Heaven with live ammunition.
Did the heavenly host have to take cover, just like us?
And what about Jesus with that ring around His head?
Not a good idea to have it lit up just now.
They might mistake Jesus for an aerial target.
Dad?
Dad?
Is Jesus bulletproof?
I believe it was that same day...
that the wall clock stopped.
Before that, I controlled time.
I wound the clock every day after breakfast.
I controlled time in the world of my childhood.
~ *THE DAY I GOT JESUS...*
~ But that ended...
~ * WITH A SLINGSHOT!*
~ the day the clock stopped.
Three! It's three o'clock!
It's three!
It's three o'clock. It's three o'clock. It's three o'clock.
I think it's three o'clock.
~ It's three o'clock.
~ Relax, Oddeman.
What are you doing?
Turnip...
Turnip dick.
Nobody could carve turnip willies like Kristian,...
my brother's friend.
He must have been to an art show...
to see what the big ones looked like.
Kristian always said "turnip dicks".
I didn't dare.
I decided I could be as good as Kristian...
or anyone else.
I tried my best...
but the others' turnip dicks always turned out better than mine.
No...
~ What's going on?
~ Oddeman's milking a cow.
There aren't any cows here.
~ Help!
~ Run, Oddeman!
Run!
Run!
You were brave.
~ I didn't milk the cow.
~ You were still brave.
Never do that again.
See what Oddeman did?
Kristian, how did you get so good at making willies?
Cut away all the extra bits.
Boys, look how many medals Oscar Mathisen has!
Let's see.
~ Wow!
~ Let's see!
There's no room for any more.
Yeah, put one on his bum.
I've met Ivar Ballangrud.
Oh? Where?
~ Behind the church.
~ Did you wave?
Yes. He'll get as many medals as Mathisen.
Maybe more.
My brother always saw incredible things when I wasn't there.
Once on the way home he saw a fire.
A house burned down.
Only the staircase was left, my brother said.
Once he saw a plane land on the road.
Three pilots stepped out, speaking a foreign language.
When it was sunny, I tried to walk in his shadow.
I followed him like a dog.
There we are. Anything else?
A tin of nigger shoe polish.
Black.
Nigger shoe polish.
Aladdin silver polish.
I'll have two of those.
Anything else?
One Chinaman tea.
Of course...Chinaman tea.
The pastor's wife...
always took her time shopping at Holt & Holt.
My brother said it was because she'd hoped to marry Holt & Holt...
but he chose someone else and this was her revenge.
Holt & Holt became famous later when he invented self-service.
"The courage and boldness of the barefoot Ethiopians...
"has amazed the entire world.
"We are following...
"developments in Abyssinia."
Why do the negroes go barefoot? Can't they afford shoes?
Their feet are so tough they don't need shoes.
They can walk on knives and red-hot coals.
Oh, how I wanted to be a negro warrior in the Ethiopian jungle.
A clever, fearless warrior...
who fooled the dumb Italians.
But the warriors were always my brother and Kristian.
Help-a me!
I was always the Italian.
Always the Italian capitano and the target.
I died a lot.
"Petter was the clever one.
"He could swim already.
"Kalla and Elma were waiting on the beach.
"What a great pair!"
Tomorrow is April Fool's Day --- watch out!
Why?
You don't want to be fooled. Remember last year?
No.
Kristian and I said Lindberg landed here.
And you raced off to see, like a bullet from a gun.
No, I don't remember.
It's no fun fooling people who can't remember.
You were too young.
Now that you say it...Lindberg does ring a bell.
Watch out. Everyone will be trying it tomorrow.
~ Who should I fool?
~ Work that out for yourself.
Good night.
Don't touch that window.
~ But it's cold.
~ Wimp.
~ Swap beds, then?
~ Can't --- this one's bigger.
My brother always wanted the window open.
I wanted it closed...
so ghosts and the Heavenly Host couldn't get in,...
even though they could get in anywhere.
But my brother wanted it open.
He was training to be Fridtjof Nansen on the ice floes.
He had to practice for the cold.
But if he wanted to be cold,...
why couldn't he sleep next to the window?
Oddeman, you must be careful!
April Fool!
Here's Dad!
~ Where?
~ April Fool.
~ When's Dad coming home?
~ He'll be here soon.
Can't you sleep, Oddeman?
I was asleep. Now I'm awake.
It isn't even night yet. You should try to sleep now.
Grown-ups don't understand.
We want to get up: "Off to bed!". We want to sleep: "Up you get!".
Come in here.
Did that hurt?
Did you know that children are born knowing all the secrets of the Universe?
When you were born, you knew everything.
Like my brother?
Much more than him or Dad or me or anyone else.
You knew all the secrets.
When you were born, when your eyes opened,...
you were about to reveal all the secrets.
Know what happened then?
An angel came down to Earth.
He placed his finger...
against your upper lip, right there.
He pressed once, hard.
You were so surprised, you forgot all the secrets.
Instead, you screamed long and loud...
to let the world know what we'd missed.
That's from an angel's finger.
Good night.
Do you want to sleep here?
It's OK.
Good night.
You didn't press hard enough, Angel.
It's 10 o'clock! It's 10 o'clock!
Oddeman...
It's 10 o'clock!
Dad's coming.
~ Is today April Fool's Day?
~ No. Look, there he is.
~ What sort of trouble?
~ Tricks...
~ OK. Need a hand?
~ No, I'm fine.
Dad, Dad, Dad...!
Dad!
Hello, young man.
You're getting heavier, Oddeman.
~ Any news up there?
~ Yes.
~ It's 10 o'clock!
~ What did you say?
Sure about that?
Mine's running slow. I'll have to adjust it.
Ten, you said? There.
~ Hi, Mom!
~ We must greet her nicely.
Good day, Madam.
Not exactly getting any lighter, either...
We honor You and thank You, God,...
for the food we receive in Jesus's name. Amen.
Lots to look forward to tonight.
Like what?
A bit of this and that, both for young...
and old.
Right, Mom?
When Dad had been away a long time,...
he and Mom sometimes needed a bit of help to get starred.
Sit up properly.
Taste this.
It's good.
An orange. Tastes like the sun.
"Nansen's...
"Gru...Grueling...
"Journey to the North Pole."
"A Hero"...the North Pole! Read, Dad!
"They were about to cross a hole in the ice, but Johansen slipped.
"He fell into the water.
"The air temperature was minus 40.
"With Nansen's help, he got back onto the ice.
"Johansen wanted to get out of his wet clothes...
"but Nansen wanted to keep going.
"'Are you a sissy, Johansen?' asked Nansen."
~ Are you a sissy, Johansen?
~ Asked Nansen.
"Johansen clenched his teeth and followed Nansen."
~ What's the time, Oddeman?
~ Eight.
We'll carry on tomorrow.
Right, then...Good night!
Is it cold at the North Pole?
Yes, it's cold, Oddeman. It's cold as Hell.
But Hell isn't cold, is it?
It's cold as Hell at the North Pole, Oddeman.
How long were they there?
Just over a year, I think.
Know how we don't call friends Mister?
Nansen and Johansen called each other Mister...
until on New Year's Eve, Nansen said, "Let's drop the Mister".
Imagine, a year, up north.
Up on the shitty ice.
Just like us, Dad.
~ Two men.
~ Up to our necks in shit.
Georg, get out of here. You're filthy.
~ You have to be clean around here.
~ Guess I'll have to wait.
Me and Dad are going for a walk, Mom.
Today, Dear Brother, we'll open it a bit extra...
in honor of Nansen.
~ Can't we swap places?
~ No way.
I'm sure Nansen slept next to the tent flap.
Filthy, am I?
Yes.
You'll wake the kids.
What's this? What are you doing?
~ We're changing things around.
~ His bed is bigger.
Must you do it now?
~ Yeah! He's...
~ Shhh! We have to.
~ What's going on?
~ I'll be right there.
Pull there.
That's when I found out...
that you can get people to do what you want...
as long as you give them a good reason for doing so.
Help!
If you know what I mean.
Will the pastor be going up on the balcony?
~ The pulpit, Oddeman.
~ Up there again today?
He's up in the pulpit every Sunday so we can see and hear him.
~ Ready?
~ Yes. What will he talk about?
Some sinner who deserves it.
I wasn't sure what a sinner was.
~ Beisebeisa, maybe?
~ Why Beisebeisa?
But I was sure I was one,...
and I think my brother thought he was a sinner, too.
I asked him once.
Help!
I've got no problems with God or Jesus.
He said he had no problems with God or Jesus.
I had my doubts. After all, I knew my brother.
What will he talk about today?
The sheep thief.
It's his turn today.
Poor sinner.
Who is the thief in our midst?
Who is the thief?
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property."
Thus the Good Book says.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property."
Is that not clear enough?
The Lord, our Shepherd,...
cannot be everywhere.
Sometimes, He must leave...
His flock to fend for itself.
It's the sheep thief.
That is where Satan abides, from this day forth.
Scripture speaks of poor sinners.
~ So he didn't pick you?
~ Boys!
Scripture speaks of poor sinners.
>From that day on, my brother always fainted in church.
Dad tried on two more Sundays...
but my brother always collapsed...
before the pastor got started talking about sinners.
Bror...Bror!
~ You can go on now.
~ Thank you.
As I was saying...
Satan is a crafty devil.
~ Bror, wake up. We're outside.
~ Wake up.
Three times. Three times.
We can't take him if he keeps fainting.
He can't sit still that long. It's his blood. He needs iron.
I'm not taking him to church until he gets some iron.
Oddeman, what are you doing now?
What are these for?
I don't want to be low on iron like my brother.
After that, we didn't go to church when Dad was home.
I thought that was OK.
The church belonged to the grown-up world.
Grown-ups never seemed to have any fun.
On Sundays, for example, when they had time for fun,...
they put on dark clothes and stood around.
I didn't want to grow up.
Grown-ups never laughed.
Mom, Dad, and Kristian's dad were the only ones who laughed.
The others looked serious and had tired faces.
When grown-ups talked,...
it was about the war in Ethiopia and prices and money...
and the Communists wanting to sell Norway to Russia.
Then they said, "When will it all end?"
~ Is it possible not to grow up?
~ What do you mean?
So we don't grow.
No. We either grow up or we die.
Oddeman?
What are you doing?
Mom, will it be long before I grow up?
Do I have to?
Of course you'll grow up.
~ When?
~ If you only knew.
~ Not before summer's over?
~ No. Oddeman, why are you on your head?
I don't want to grow up. I'm stopping the growth.
You're a crazy little character, Oddeman.
Mom shouldn't have said that.
One thing we had plenty of was crazy people.
How do you know if you're crazy?
Crazy people don't know. No one dares tell them.
A lot of crazies make faces without knowing it.
I knew there were a lot of crazies around back then.
No one had told them they were crazy.
I decided to stop walking in my brother's shadow...
and to stop talking to myself and walking in zigzags.
Aside from that, there wasn't much I could do.
If you're crazy, you're crazy. That's the way it is.
See, guys --- if you get a hole in your head like Oddeman,...
then you're finished.
One hole and you'll go crazy, guaranteed.
Stir-crazy --- there's no hope for you.
One crack in your skull, and...
Watch out.
Watch out!
Everyone must watch out!
Dangerous times...
That's Beisebeisa. He's crazy, too. Real crazy.
Dangerous times!
Watch out for him, Oddeman.
In my childhood world, the darkness would breathe.
You could hear it.
Sometimes, at night,...
there was something alive in the attic.
It sounded like a man with a wooden leg.
I heard him, more than once.
But no one would believe me, not even Mom.
Listen! There he is! Listen!
It's just a branch.
But it's not that windy.
Listen! Someone's up there!
Go up and look, then.
Don't wake me again.
Go up and look, indeed.
What was the point?
What if I went up, didn't see anyone,...
and then heard it again?
That would mean...
there was an invisible man with a wooden leg.
And that certainly wasn't any better.
Oh, there was much to be afraid of in my childhood world.
Witches, for example.
Kristian's mom was a witch.
Mom said so once, when she didn't know I was listening.
So that's what you're looking at.
No...I was just looking out when Mrs. Hansen appeared.
She's a Godless witch.
Aren't you ever going to forgive her?
Jenny...Jenny!
I wasn't too sure why Mrs. Hansen was a witch.
But I clearly remembered the last time Mom visited the Hansens.
About time!
How can you afford a car like this?
You'll pay for it when you get my next play.
That play will never get written, Lazybones!
Kristian's dad managed a theatre in the city, I think.
Kristian's mom was a famous ballerina.
Who's thirsty?
What are you doing?
Your lips, your smile...
Your breasts will be famous --- I'll paint them!
I can't wait to be a grown-up.
What?
"Wine, women, and song..." That's what dad says.
"Being grown-up means endless wine, women, and song."
~ That's something, guys.
~ No way.
I don't want to grow up.
That evening, I started wondering...
if maybe the adult world wasn't quite so dreary after all.
The grown-ups were laughing and beautiful.
Mom was the prettiest of all.
Don't just stand there --- let's dance!
Come on. The orchestra's playing great tunes.
You can't just sit in the corner.
Right?
I've warmed her up --- you can take over.
~ Here you are, Jenny.
~ Nice poster.
Oh my God. That was a wonderful role.
I read about it.
A scandal, fortunately. Karl was so happy.
Cause a scandal and the audience flocks in.
What's this? It's odd...
Line told me to ask you what this is.
Well, let's see...
What you have there, dear neighbor,...
is an object that few women get to hold in public.
But what is it?
To put it bluntly,...
what you have there is a whale's dick.
~ What did you say?
~ A whale's dick.
You could cause a lot of trouble with that.
Thanks for having me.
Are you coming?
I'll fix it.
Oddeman, we're going home.
But Mom...
Straight away. Off to bed.
Jenny, come on...
~ It wasn't all that bad, was it?
~ Did they laugh at you?
~ Come on.
~ No.
~ You won't come?
~ No!
That night, my brother told me about the social order.
On top there's Mom, with Dad right below.
They have the power and wisdom to decide everything.
He used words he'd learned at Sunday School.
Below Mom and Dad, you have God...and Jesus.
He'd made a Pillar of Power.
They're up there...looking down at us.
No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it.
Do they see everything I do?
Not as well as Mom.
They have helpers...the Heavenly Host.
There are milli-billions of them.
They're watching all the time. They report to God and Jesus.
Below the Heavenly Host, you have me.
I may not know as much as Mom, Dad, God, or Jesus...
but I sure as Hell come close.
Oh --- sorry.
Where am I?
All the way down there --- at the bottom.
~ That's where.
~ How do I get up?
You can't, unless you become a pastor or a policeman.
Don't touch the window.
I wouldn't dream of it, now that we'd swapped places.
But I dreamt of the Pillar of Power.
It was heavy on my stomach, squeezing me flat.
Is it the Heavenly Host...
that keeps me from disappearing into the ground?
Luckily, I woke up before I was flattened.
And Mom was there.
Just a dream.
I'll tuck you in.
When she was at her nicest, Mom spoke in her dialect.
A dozing bud, a peaceful lamb...
and sleeping little girls...
and sleeping little boys...
and little sleeping Oddeman...
You shut the window.
~ I didn't!
~ Then who did?
You know not to touch it.
I'm going to get you.
Boys...
Are you leaving already?
~ Dad's leaving.
~ Do you have to?
I have to catch the bus. Can you give me a hand?
Good day. May I ask what's going on?
~ It's just a drill.
~ A drill.
Thank you.
Dad, has the war started?
No war, Oddeman. It won't reach us.
~ Promise to help out while I'm away. Promise?
~ Yes.
~ Look after Mom for me.
~ Yes.
You're the boss.
I'll be home as soon as I can.
Keep an eye on the clock, Oddeman.
~ Come back soon!
~ Bye.
Out of the way! Go home!
~ It's Beisebeisa.
~ Eye on the clock, Oddeman.
~ Has the war started?
~ Watch out for him.
No war, Oddeman. It won't reach us.
Dangerous times.
Dangerous people everywhere.
There you are.
I can hear you. Show yourselves!
We little folk...must take care.
We little folk must take care.
Dangerous times...are coming.
But life went on, with or without soldiers.
Every Sunday, there was Sunday School.
The Bible is a big book, so we needed to get an early start.
Silence! Off with your caps.
The organist's husband was an electrician.
Today, we're going to talk about Heaven,...
Earth, and Hell.
In Hell, it's terribly hot.
The sinners who go there burn up in a flash.
But first, let's sing a song.
>From this, we learn that God is highest of all.
>From up there, He rules Heaven and Earth and...
That's not true.
Quiet!
It's not true.
~ Aren't you telling?
~ Telling what?
Stand up.
My brother says Mom and Dad are on top,...
then comes God and Jesus.
Right?
I won't have it, Bror.
Gold star.
Understood?
Here.
You don't get a star.
Bror, you can have one of my stars.
This one's dangling. It's almost come loose.
Do you mean that?
I don't need it.
Give it to me, Oddeman.
Mine's almost empty.
The Grimstad Times has published an astonishing report.
More than 100 people claim to have seen Jesus yesterday.
He came in over Grimstad Fjord, escorted by the Heavenly Host.
He then assumed the form of the Holy Grail...
which hung shining over the fjord.
Local journalists have spoken to eyewitnesses...
Mom, Bror, come here. They've seen Jesus in Grimstad.
They have Jesus experts on the radio. Come on!
I was not present in person...
but I have spoken by telephone with the local police...
about the incident.
Regrettably, for believers,...
it was most likely a meteorological phenomenon.
~ A weather phenomenon?
~ Exactly.
Most likely a play of light in the upper atmosphere...
~ Wasn't it Jesus, then?
~ Shhh! Listen!
But the witnesses were in different locations.
Can such a phenomenon look the same to so many people?
It's more probable than Jesus gliding over Grimstad Fjord.
It wasn't Jesus.
The Chief Meteorologist wasn't sure it wasn't Jesus gliding over the fjord in Grimstad.
He didn't convince me.
The Chief Meteorologist wasn't even in Grimstad at the time.
What would he, a meteorologist, know about the ways of Jesus?
~ How's it going?
~ Lousy.
I don't think you'll see Him.
"No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it."
I've never seen one fall.
Have you ever seen Jesus?
Certain things are better left unexplained.
It should be enough to believe your own eyes.
Oddeman...
The Devil!
Wake up! The Devil's in the kitchen!
No, don't go down there!
~ The Devil's here!
~ What are you up to now?
Mother, you're here already?
You're late getting up.
What are you doing with my slingshot?
Just look at these fine boys.
I thought you were the Devil, Grandma.
I arrived by boat yesterday.
Praise the Lord, Who took me under His wing.
He made the sea flat.
Completely flat, boys.
The Chief Meteorologist believed in the weather.
Grandma believed in God.
It was that summer, the last summer of my childhood...
that I learned that grown-ups believe in different things.
That there wasn't just one law in the world for grown-ups.
Grandma dressed in black.
She was kind.
She just didn't want us, her daughter's kids,...
to end up in Hell.
Because it's hot there.
Stop that whistling. Immediately!
Whistling is the Devil's violin!
When someone whistled, Jesus cries!
So you must stop it. Immediately!
Grandma thought whistling would send us to Hell.
So she was adamant that we shouldn't whistle.
Has she seen Jesus?
~ What was he wearing?
~ His everyday Jesus clothes.
Oddeman stole my slingshot.
Oh? Why?
"No sparrow falls to the ground without Jesus seeing it."
Oddeman says that if we shoot a sparrow, Jesus will show up.
It's in the Bible.
Come on!
Whoever hits the can first shoots the sparrow.
Give it to Oddeman.
~ Jeez!
~ Wow...!
~ Wow.
~ You shoot.
~ There!
~ Hit it!
It has to fall down if we want to see Jesus.
~ Yes!
~ Hit it! Shoot!
~ Quick! Look for Jesus!
~ He'll come down from above.
~ There He is!
~ Where?
There.
Gee! Have we seen Jesus?
The sparrow's gone.
Boys...hey, boys!
Did you see that hawk? It was huge!
Hurry! It's Jesus!
~ Give me the slingshot.
~ No. It's Jesus.
Don't be silly. There's a reward for hawks.
~ What's up?
~ The elastic broke.
The elastic?
I knew it was no coincidence the elastic broke just then.
I wasn't sure of much, but I was sure about that.
No one could tell me it was a coincidence.
I had killed that tiny sparrow, one of God's little creatures.
That little sparrow was on my conscience...
day and night for an entire month.
Or at least for several days and nights.
Wake up.
You've been dreaming.
Mom, are we the poorest people here?
~ Are we what?
~ Are we the poorest?
"We're neither the richest nor the poorest."
That's what Grandma says.
Maybe we can give the poor some food.
And some toys.
That's kind of you. We'll see what we can do.
Let's get up early tomorrow.
You must go to sleep now. Good night. Sleep well.
It was right that Mom was on top of the Pillar of Power.
She belonged there.
But I'm glad she didn't know about the sparrow.
Is Holt & Holt rich, Mom?
Is Dr. Mikkelsen rich?
Syversen has a coat with a fur collar. Is he rich?
But the tunnel workers are poor.
They're poor.
Why do they work in a tunnel if it makes them poor?
When we went to find the poor people, to be kind...
we had to go past the Workers' Movement.
They were called that because they were always moving.
They were busy wrapping up the country...
to sell it to the Russians. That's what people said.
How could such scraggy people wrap up the whole country before selling it?
The people here didn't seem to even be able to wrap a lantern.
Mom, someone's coming.
Hello.
~ We can't buy anything.
~ Oh, no, we're not selling.
We've brought food and some of Oddeman's things that he wants to give you.
Have you got tobacco?
No, unfortunately.
These people were obviously poor.
I didn't even need to ask.
Instead, I prayed that the Heavenly Host was watching...
and paying close attention, for now I was being kind.
I hoped it made up for killing the sparrow.
And some magazines.
~ Oddeman...
~ Let go.
They must have been wrapping up Norway somewhere else.
~ Oddeman, why did you go inside?
~ To look around.
I couldn't really tell her what I was looking for...
was wrapping paper, string, and labels.
That summer, I realized that grown-ups didn't know everything.
Grandma feared Hell.
Everyone feared the war. "How will it end?"
Air-raid sirens kept going off, and so on.
Amundsen, Nansen, and Johansen were dead.
Even Ivar Ballangrud and Dad couldn't handle everything.
Or God.
Indoors in this lovely weather?
Is that what Jesus looked like when you saw him?
Yes.
~ Did He have a ring?
~ Huh?
A glowing ring over His head?
Oh, yes. Jesus always wears His halo.
What you're calling a ring, Oddeman, is a halo.
Jesus never goes anywhere without His halo.
It's always switched on.
Yes, He's always got it switched on.
Are you going to paint the whole church?
No. I just do a few pews every Tuesday.
I have to be sure they'll dry by Sunday.
People get angry if they get paint on their best clothes.
What do you want?
Can I look around since the church is empty?
Don't go into the pulpit, and watch out for those pews.
Are you allowed to whistle?
Just as well Grandma wasn't here.
What would she have said?
It was strange being alone in a church.
Without the noise, the coughing, and the psalms.
And without the angry pastor.
He was probably at home, saving up his breath, preparing for next Sunday.
Someone must have seen Jesus.
In all the pictures I'd seen, He always looked the same.
That was no coincidence,...
regardless of what that Chief Meteorologist said.
But what was Jesus going to do now that they were shelling Heaven?
And in winter? Did He wear sandals and that ring?
That ring would look funny with snow on it.
And Jesus surely wasn't funny.
You know that ring that Jesus has, the one that glows?
When it snows, does the snow pile up on it?
My brother took his time answering.
It never snows when Jesus is out walking.
That was the first time I wondered whether he knew anything...
or if he just made things up.
Look, you can find your way anywhere.
You can't get lost with a compass.
You just follow the needle.
We're going to the North Pole.
I'm Nansen. Kristian is Johansen.
I want to go, too. I can be Amundsen.
Idiot. Amundsen didn't go to the North Pole.
He went to the South Pole. Much easier.
No it's not.
I refused to accept that Amundsen's journey was easy.
The North Pole.
The South Pole.
Uphill to the North Pole.
Downhill to the South Pole.
Sissies!
And it gets warmer the further south you go.
The North Pole is freezing.
Yes, but I want to come.
Nansen and Johansen couldn't take Amundsen.
But they took a dog.
Northwards, Mr. Johansen. Northwards!
I'll follow you anywhere, Mr. Nansen.
Mush, Ulv!
On the other side of the stream, we reached the ice pack...
and the going got tough.
Nansen and Johansen struggled on.
So did their dog.
They were soon having some problems cooperating.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
Don't give up, Mr. Johansen. You're no sissy.
I can ski as well as you.
"As well as you, Mr. Nansen."
May I remind you we've haven't stopped saying "Mister" yet?
Nansen and Johansen decided they'd reached 86° North.
It was time to eat.
The dog Ulv didn't know it was his last meal.
Mr. Nansen, we must kill the dog before we go on.
Correct. Says so in the book.
This was news to Ulv.
He'd thought he'd get to see the Pole.
This is a job for you, Mr. Johansen. Make it quick.
You've been a good companion, Ulv.
Keep still.
It was OK to be a dead dog.
I didn't have to struggle on to the Pole.
~ I want to go home.
~ We've lost the compass.
Hurry up, Oddeman!
~ We can't stay here.
~ It's so cold.
We'll stay until the wind drops.
Come on!
Come!
Nansen?
Johansen?
Come on. I know where to go.
Come on!
Wait!
Boys!
~ Oddeman!
~ Kristian!
Bror!
Kristian!
Kristian!
It's Beisebeisa.
~ We must go into the forest.
~ Come on!
Here!
They're here!
Where's Oddeman? Where's Oddeman?
Goodbye, Nansen!
Dad!
~ Oddeman!
~ Dad!
In the trial, I was pardoned...
because of my age and lack of maturity.
My brother was grounded.
As for Kristian, I don't know, but we all learned a lesson...
about following in the ski tracks of heroes.
Tarzan is a hero, Tarzan is a hero...
Tarzan doesn't count. Only real people do.
They must be Norwegian. Like skaters.
Like Sonja Henie.
No! No girl heroes.
Think Ballangrud and Mathisen. They're heroes.
Hey, guys...the Bronze Medalists!
Yeah, the Bronze medalists!
~ Do the commentary!
~ Yeah, do it.
No.
Live from Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
The crowd is tense with excitement.
For Germany, this match is a shock.
All the odds were against Norway, but David is challenging Goliath.
A free kick to Germany. Siffling takes it.
Lots of elbowing, plenty of shoving.
Munkert against Eriksen. The referee should step in...
Quiet!
The ball heads towards goal. Siffling kicks over the defenders.
Move the pole.
Move the pole. Hurry!
Back...
Back! All the way back!
Quiet!
The Colonel outsmarts Dickens.
Bagman to Cookie. Cookie to the Colonel.
The Colonel bypasses the German defense...
Franzen is open. The Colonel passes the ball to the Poet.
Yes, he shoots!
Isaksen scores!
Goal for Norway!
It's a sensation.
People can't believe their eyes...
Maybe it isn't true that grown-ups are always boring...
but they sure need a big push to get going.
The world of my childhood lasted forever.
I knew exactly when I entered the world.
That's on my christening certificate.
But exactly when I left the world of my childhood,...
it's hard to say.
Perhaps it's the day the clock on the wall stopped.
A year in the world of our childhood...
lasts longer than anywhere else.
The summers, the summers...
they could last as long as a lifetime in other worlds.
A day could last an entire week.
The world of my childhood was a wonderful world,...
filled with wonders, filled with mysteries,...
things I can no longer see as a grown-up.
There are unconfirmed reports of incidents...
involving German and Polish troops...
But the world of my childhood was also filled with perils and fears.
I don't think I would return, even if I could.
England and France are declaring war...
Over the years I've traveled to many places...
and sailed across many oceans.
I'd like to go back to some of those places.
But I can't return to the world of my childhood,...
either as an explorer or as a tourist,...
even if I wanted to.
I simply can't.
The world of my childhood no longer exists.
The world of my childhood died at the moment my childhood ended.
Strange, isn't it?