Fatso

I saw this movie without any expectation that it would be good. But it turns out to be an artful and skillfully developed movie that is comical on the surface but carries deep down a tragic undertone. Nils Jørgen Kaalstad, who plays Rino, is a much better actor than first appears on screen. His acting is superb in subtle ways.

He plays an over-sexed nerd who is hooked onto pornography but has not developed the skills required to actually lure women to bed. His innate shyness and inexperience make him a lonely, socially (and sexually) ostracized person. But Rino has a good heart and is a kind and responsible person. The anecdotes on his translating "boring" user manuals of tools and widgets from the German to Norwegian is actually funny and very true-to-life. I know people who do such work for a living.

I can see that this movie may not appeal to viewers who don't not want to think. Rino's failure to live a "normal" sex life is a veiled condemnation of the dark side of Internet sex. Rino elicits sympathy. One hopes he will eventually finds the right woman who rescues him from the dungeon of cyber sex obsession. The movie is deeply honest and real-to-life.