Junk Mail (1997)

JUNK MAIL (3+ outta 5 stars) Offbeat but sincere comedy-thriller about a lonely postman who comes across a set of keys accidentally left in the mailbox by a cute young girl on his route. He makes a copy of her keys and secretly checks out her apartment while she is at work. He also has a habit of disposing of junk mail in an out of the way train tunnel (whether this is out of sheer laziness or to spare the people on his route the bother is never really explained). One day he accidentally falls asleep and is trapped inside the girl's bedroom when she comes home from work and then... well, to give any more away would definitely ruin your enjoyment so I'll stop there. Suffice to say that things get a little more complicated. This quirky little Norwegian film didn't get a whole lot of attention on its US release. Too bad... it's well-written and well-acted and definitely worth checking out. Sort of a kinder and gentler version of "Blue Velvet".

"Junk Mail", a comedy out of Oslo, tells of the activities of a grungy slug of postman whose curiosity and lack of good sense gets him in to a variety of undesirable situations. The camera follows the slovenly little protag as he goes about his business among a meager cast with almost no script delivering mail and almost nothing which can be regarded as entertainment. "Junk Mail" is the kind of unusual film which critics love and the public can't figure out why. Factor in subtitles and this flick just isn't worth the time...unless you're a critic, of course. (C-)

Although little appears to happen in this film, it is in fact a very well controlled piece about a postman who has opted out of engaging with the world. He accidentally saves the life of a suicidal woman, and through committing this unintentional good act becomes a better person - entirely against his will.The performances are flawless, and the direction unobtrusive, giving the illusion of effortlessness that is in fact very hard to achieve. Despite being a film of great moral complexity, Junk Mail wears its serious purpose very lightly, and is in fact very funny indeed.Certainly one of the best films to come out of Scandinavia in recent years, and one which shows a side of Oslo few outsiders ever witness.

The Norwegian movie, Budbringeren/Junk Mail, nearly got an Oscar. The movie has changed the Norwegian film culture totally. It's sarcasms and black humor are actually working well on most people. The thing with Junk Mail is that people either like it, or not. It's difficult to explain. Many people from other contries, would think of Oslo as a horrible city... well, It's not. Oslo is actually beautiful, well, most of it. The only problem with this movie is that they are showing the worst parts of Oslo (The film was made in a small part of Oslo east). It can make people from other contries think of Norway as a 'dirty' country... Please don't think that about Norway just because of a 'black' film. I do think that for an international movie, like this one, that they should have shot a few scenes in better parts of the city. If you already have been to Norway, Junk Mail probably would be funnier to watch...