What a thoroughly depressing way to spend ninety minutes of your life. It all begins with a sixty something year old man on the phone ending his newspaper subscription. This is part of the three unrelated stories. The second one involves a guy sitting in a kitchen while conversing with a woman and their children. The tension is palpable, as his ex-wife speaks on the phone with her current man. Number three is a drug addict in biker shirts behaving very strangely as he watches television. He walks into a bedroom and mounts a tied up woman for a quick round of unwanted intercourse. Oh what fun those Norwegians are. He later unties the woman so that she can breast feed their screaming infant. I have no idea what the hell the point is to the three unconnected plots is supposed to be, other than that life is a great struggle and that we live in a world where sudden deadly violence may occur. The acting is fine overall, but I cannot recommend Ninety Minutes for any reason at all.

I went to a screening of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. We had to exchange tickets at the last minute before leaving the city and we picked this one quite at random. I must say I didn't expect what I saw.

The film begins as slowly as any film can be. A woman and his husband prepare for their children's birthday party. An older man cancels his newspaper subscription. A young man watches TV and observes the teenagers playing on the other side of the street. Going into the film, you know you're about to observe the last 90 minutes of these people's lives. But how do they get from doing the most mundane things to dying? Is it their own doing? Is it planned? Will someone else end their lives?

This is what you explore in 90 minutes. The contrast between all of these stories is what makes the experience interesting. The elderly's story seems straightforward. It's slow and it's sad but you know why, and almost how it's coming. The couple's story takes a different turn somewhere down the road and ends with a bang. I live in Quebec, and somehow I find it resonates with recent events here but no matter where you come from, you'll know of something like this.

The first two stories (although they do go back and forth between them so there isn't really a particular order) are scenes that we're almost accustomed to. The hatred, the regrets, the shame that can all build up within the most ordinary people only to explode in a burst of violence or drag the people you love down with you. It's real and beautifully shown here. We get glimpses of their past and it ties everything together, so that everyone will understand.

The third story begins ordinarily as well. After a somewhat long shot, the camera moves and suddenly the story is turned into a nightmare. It's the most disturbing and violent part of the film. It's also the one that raised the most questions. Why did she stay there? How long had this been going on? Had it always been like this? Unfortunately here you are made to answer the questions yourself. Perhaps the relationship took a wrong turn. Perhaps the man changed along the way. Or maybe it really never was a relationship to begin with. Either way this story is the one that takes the film to the next level. The one that allows us to glimpse into the violence present outside of the world of ordinary middle class people.

90 minutes will shock you. It's not a long film but it isn't especially easy to watch either. It's definitely worth seeing if you like foreign films, or don't mind ones that aren't action packed from beginning to end.

We get no explanations when we follow three different ordinary situations which seem like ordinary and common, but we're entering the last minutes of three mens lives. We must use our own imaginations, but we understand there's a reason behind the three mens reactions, planned or not. We just don't now what lies behind. The following is anyway the same - despair.

This is definitely not for everyone. Just like the men, this film is detached. Sometimes slow, other times violent, both in pictures as well as other times in you own imagination. Nothing to watch for a troubled mind, nor for those needing the answers. Still this film has got a lot of attention for all this

We meet three men which have lost not only the meaning of life. They have lost themselves. Maybe they hate themselves for this. We really don't get to know, but they are kind of detached. Just like we feel when we hear about these tragedies after they have happened.

Eva Sørhaugs second feature after Cold Lunch (Lønsj) is a difficult film to comprehend. Still we've read and heard about it in the news. the tragedies which we all find impossible to understand and meaningless. I guess this is what Sørhaug here tries to makes us think about.

I enjoyed Cold lunch very much, and obviously more than most. I didn't feel like it was forced. 90 minutes is perhaps a step forward, but it's slow. My problem with it is not the acting, which is very good. But somehow I'm not really able to really feel for them all. Maybe we're not supposed to. Still there are scenes difficult to watch, but I'm not sure if it touches my heart.

One of the three stories does, though. A family quarreling over their kids. Mads Ousdal is doing the best job here. Still they are all men. There are not many tears shed. We might see them in a corner of their eyes, but they never really surface.

I think this makes the film difficult to like. But then again, we not supposed to, are we? I've been swaggering between a 6 or a 7, but the pace of the end, and the mark this leaves upon the viewer, make me doubt myself on to a 7 out of 10.

I started off liking the premise, and also the sections with crowds moving in the city street, but the last time the crowds came back, I found it strangely pointless. Sørhaug is still a young filmmaker, but next time I'd like more of a story behind. Im afraid I'm not sure if this is a step in the right direction. Once again; It's a difficult film to like, still it's strong stuff!