Loop

Running time: 90 mins

What is the ?quality of life?? According to Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, some people will define it through their daily work and life, while others find it by leaving it all behind and embarking on adventures of their own. Næss relates his own choices, along with his profound respect for nature and the world around him. He is, incidentally, 92 years old.

Sjur Paulsen?s fascinating and beautifully photographed Loop examines just how far ?regular? people can go to find personal fulfillment, and maybe even inner peace. Included are a forty-something rock-climber daring the extremes of nature, a couple of part-time fishermen who?ve traded in their jobs for the risky exhilaration of a day-to-day existence aboard a rowing boat, and a former ambulance driver now stationed atop a forest tower to watch for fires.

Both serene and amusing, Loop brings to mind the masterful documentaries of Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, The White Diamond) in its view of mankind?s search for happiness and need to challenge the elements. An elating philosophical inquiry, the picture also offers a tour of remarkable Norwegian locales, captured in all their glory by the director?s digital cameras. It is certainly one of the most inspirational films you will have the chance to see.

Fernando F. Croce

Preceded by: Who?s the Top?; dir. Jennie Livingston; 23min; When work takes Alixe to San Francisco, her fantasies come to life in the form of an old friend. Does love fall apart because sex stops working, or does sex stop working because love falls apart?


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