Oslo, August 31st

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joachim Trier directs. Jakob Ihre behind the camera. Ola Fløttum scores. Olivier Bugge Coutté cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Norway. Dialogue in Norwegian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 15 years ago.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Norwegian, English.
• 3Directed by Joachim Trier, shot by Jakob Ihre. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Ola Fløttum. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Anders Danielsen Lie and Malin Crépin and Hans Olav Brenner carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Live today, one minute at a time.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt1736633 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 9 themes, including "depression", "based on novel or book", "job interview", "loneliness".

The technical file

Cinematography

Jakob Ihre

Original score

Ola Fløttum

Editing

Olivier Bugge Coutté

Production design

Jørgen Stangebye Larsen

Costume design

Ellen Ystehede

Makeup / hair

Katharina Lie

Sound

Gisle Tveito

Stunt coordinator

Deni Jordan

Runtime

95 min · 1h 35m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$1,481,665

Original language

NO

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Oslo, August 31st (2011) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

97% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

84/100

IMDB rating

7.6/10 · 35,036 votes

MPAA

Not Rated

Also by

Joachim Trier

• 
  Sentimental Value

  2025 · ★ 7.5
• 
  The Worst Person in the World

  2021 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Reprise

  2006 · ★ 7.1
• 
  Thelma

  2017 · ★ 6.8
• 
  Louder Than Bombs

  2015 · ★ 6.5
• 
  Still

  2001 · ★ 6.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  ND/NF Q&A w/ Joachim Trier, "Oslo, August 31st"

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2024-05-22
  ★ 7/10

  Anders Danielsen Lie offers a really quite intense performance here as the recovering drug addict "Anders". His physicians think he's sufficiently improved to be able to spend a day, unsupervised, in Oslo, with family and friends and to have an interview for a job. Initially it all goes well. He drops in on "Thomas" (Hans Olav Brenner) and his family and is geared up (not literally) for his interview. That's where the wheels come off and we spend the rest of his day as he reminisces about the past, encounters some of those important to that past and gradually appears to be coming to terms with what he considers best for his future. Joachim Trier uses the gentle pacing of this drama to allow Lie to slowly demonstrate his character's sense of introspection and considered self-destruction. This isn't an ill-educated man who grew up in squalor or depravity, this is an erudite and engaging "Anders" who comes from a decent, loving, home that's not without it's ups and downs, but ought to have provided him with more of an emotional robustness that we are presented with here. There is a solid cast of supporting actors - Malin Crépin ("Malin") strong amongst them, as his brain appears to be putting his house in order. It's not an easy film to sit through. It's traumatic in a delicate and measured sort of way, and Lie delivers us a persona with whom it's easy enough to empathise and want to give a good shake to, too.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Motlys

  NO

• DO

  Don't Look Now

  NO

Key crew

• ProducerHans-Jørgen Osnes
• ProducerYngve Sæther
• ProducerSigve Endresen
• PropsJostein Oksavik
• Sound EditorGunn Tove Grønsberg
• GripBo Lundgren
• Casting AssistantHallvard Berby
• Production ManagerAnnette Staubo
• Foley ArtistRoy Fenstad
• GafferStian Jorde
• Sound Re-Recording MixerGisle Tveito
• Sound EditorGisle Tveito
• Second Unit First Assistant DirectorPaul Tunge
• Online EditorKjetil Haugen
• Foley RecordistHugo Ekornes
• Makeup ArtistKatharina Lie
• Post Production CoordinatorEspen Skjørdal
• Sound RecordistIngar Asdahl
• Boom OperatorFanny Wadman
• Casting AssistantEspen Klouman Høiner
• Second Assistant DirectorEmil Trier
• Sound RecordistAndrew Windtwood
• Assistant Property MasterJens Berger
• Lighting TechnicianThomas Lund

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• depression
• based on novel or book
• job interview
• loneliness
• recovering addict
• old friends
• suicide thoughts
• oslo, norway
• sad

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2012-03-28· New Directors/New Films
• Premiere2012-04-14· RiverRun International Film Festival
• Premiere2012-05-19· Seattle International Film Festival
• Premiere2012-01-20· Sundance Film Festival
• Premiere2012-04-20· San Francisco International Film Festival & Wisconsin Film Festival
• Theatrical2012-05-25NR· New York City, New York

Also known as

International titles

• Oslo, August 31stNO
• Oslo, 31 de AgostoBR
• 八三一斷魂曲HK
• Осло, 31-го серпняUA
• 奥斯陆，8月31日CN
• Oslo, 31. AğustosTR
• Oslas, rugpjūčio 31-ojiLT