The Orchard will open the film in theaters on November 10,
and it has just been announced that THELMA is Norway's official Oscar®
entry for Best Foreign Language Film. Following its TIFF premiere, the
film will be shown at Fantastic Fest and New York Film Festival.
Studio: The Orchard
Release Date: November 10
Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Cast: Eili Harboe, Okay Kaya, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ellen Dorrit Petersen
Producer: Thomas Robsahm
SYNOPSIS (Short)
Thelma, a shy
young student, has just left her religious family in a small town on the
west coast of Norway to study at a university in Oslo. While at the
library one day, she experiences a violent, unexpected seizure. Soon
after, she finds herself intensely drawn toward Anja, a beautiful young
student who reciprocates Thelma's powerful attraction. As the semester
continues, Thelma becomes increasingly overwhelmed by her intense
feelings for Anja - feelings she doesn't dare acknowledge, even to
herself - while at the same time experiencing even more extreme
seizures. As it becomes clearer that the seizures are a symptom of
inexplicable, often dangerous, supernatural abilities, Thelma is
confronted with tragic secrets of her past, and the terrifying
implications of her powers.
SYNOPSIS (Long)
In a snowy
wood, a little girl stands transfixed by a fawn, while her father takes
aim with his rifle. Except, the gun is turned toward the child. It is
only a moment, and it passes as the man reconsiders his target. Years
later, Thelma (Eili Harboe) embarks on her freshman year at college in
Oslo. On the surface, Thelma is not unlike her fellow students:
Sensitive, vulnerable, feeling her way through new experiences and
sensations of the adult world. Raised in the country by strict and
religious parents, she encounters the rituals of campus life as if
emerging from a cocoon. But there also is something unusual and
extraordinary about her. One day as she studies in the library Thelma is
gripped by a seizure, her tremors punctuated by the thud of black birds
smashing themselves against the windows. Anja (Kaya Wilkins), another
student, comes to her aid.
Before long, a
friendship blooms between the two young women. Although her parents
Trond (Henrik Rafaelsen) and Unni (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) monitor Thelma
through persistent phone calls, she begins to loosen up. Through a
budding attraction to Anja, she experiences an emotional and sexual
awakening that both thrills and terrifies her. The new feelings cause
Thelma to struggle with her religious upbringing, and the tension
unleashes more uncanny events - erotic dreams replete with crawling
serpents; seizures that disorder the world around her. As her connection
to Anja deepens, Thelma's need to discover her true self becomes
urgent. She seeks a medical answer to her episodes, which are diagnosed
as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, an affliction that once got women
misidentified as witches. Digging further, she uncovers disturbing
secrets about her family, and reluctantly comes to a fateful realization
- just as Anja goes mysteriously missing.
Thelma sees no
option but to return to her rural home and face the difficult truth of
her legacy, and the terrifying implications of her powers.
No comments:
Post a Comment