aarongastelum If you ever saw and liked Yorgos Lanthimos's film The Lobster (2015) then you will love The Bothersome Man. As both films create their own world, makes you think just about everything, and have a really unique way of involving comedy. Should you see it? watch the trailer on Youtube to find out.

Tina Willis I found some reviewers who said it better than I can; "Bothersome Man is a stark yet strangely lyrical, multi-layered dirge for the absurdity of human fate in the face of figuratively deadening social conformity, and on the other hand, literal mortality."....Prairie Miller,WBAI Web Radio "An absurdly funny dystopian allegory that can proudly hold its own next to Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 and Terry Gilliam's Brazil."....Ken Fox, TV Guide "Made with formidable assurance, a compelling look, quiet skill and impressive economy."....Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune "A few flaws but this is visually captivating and psychologically disturbing."....David Parkinson, Empire Magazine "Good dystopian film about a rare parallel reality, though it is very slow paced."....KyK, audience reviewer

Jordan Fried I thought the movie was very well done and made some very interesting interpretations meant to be thought about the real world, cities, etc... all things people have said, but what I didn't see was that this place is a form of purgatory for people who committed suicide. I believe that this is why there were so many middle aged middle class white people. Also the lack of children and not too many elderly. I agree with most posters that the first scene was not real because of the kissing being the same lifeless, emotionless stuff. But I do think that Andreas killed himself anyway before he got there. He seems rather depressed at all times and never so much as asks questions until he finds the violin music. I also realize that the others took some time possibly to get used to this place and started to understand what it took to at least get the "good" things that were there so they fell in line to at least be able to receive these things. Andreas took it too far and tried to reach the Heaven where people who didn't kill themselves went and then he did not fall back in line when given the opportunity before they took him back to the bus stop. I think that others may have experienced this and when they were told "aren't you happy here" by the older woman at the end they may have decided that this was probably a good idea as opposed to going with the men in the jump suits. Just my interpretation. Curious to hear what others think.

secondtake The Bothersome Man (2006)Of course this is weird. It's a surreal version of dying and heaven (or hell) is a little shack in the middle of nowhere that is a way to get a second chance. At something. Life, maybe.This is a little like the crop of comic serious surreal movies in the last twenty years where you part laugh and part are gasping in appreciation for the reality invented. I'm thinking "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or "Being John Malkovich" or even "Inception." And at first it's just a terrific experience, going with the flow, which is understated in broad expanses of deadpan landscape and people alike. Eventually you adjust to the newness and want a thread of meaning or something to carry it along.And this mostly succeeds most of the time. Which is not quite like a brilliant knock you over film. Jump in and wallow with the main character, who seems to have some kind of free will but within an invisible restraint. I mean, taking a ride back to life for some kind of reappraisal, even if you know it's all a mirage, means maybe being radical and not a bit submissive.Not for this Norwegian. The humor comes and goes, the logic certainly goes more than comes, but the mood, the charm and ease of all the characters is enjoyable, almost heavenly, in a weird not quite coincidental way. I would check this out. I know a lot of people will get bored in the first few minutes because the wry dry humor, the lack of dialog, and even the lack of anything quite happening will drive them batty. But you know if you're not like that, and can get into a "Paris Texas" or "Dead Man" or lightweight Ingmar Bergman sensibility. Try it. I liked it a lot, even if I got a bit restless by the last third.