Sightlines · reception
How Oslo, August 31st was received
2011 · Joachim Trier · Oslo, August 31st on Sightlines
The arc
Premiered quietly in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2011 to strong reviews but a small arthouse footprint; its stature has climbed steadily since, and The Worst Person in the World (2021) sent a wave of new viewers back to it as the devastating middle chapter of Trier's Oslo trilogy.
What’s debated
The perennial cinephile debate is Trier-ranking — whether this quiet gut-punch is actually better than the flashier, more beloved The Worst Person in the World — plus the confession that it's a masterpiece many can't bring themselves to rewatch.
Its footprint
The café scene, where Anders sits alone eavesdropping on strangers' small hopes and plans, is one of the most-cited scenes in 2010s art cinema — shorthand on Letterboxd and film Twitter for loneliness in a crowd, and a fixture of 'films that will destroy you' lists.
Where it stands
A modern Letterboxd sacred text — the crown jewel of 'sad cinema' lists and a 'you must see this' rite of passage for fans who found Trier through The Worst Person in the World.
Did you know? Star Anders Danielsen Lie is a practicing medical doctor in real life — he kept working as a physician in Oslo while making this and Trier's other films.
Named by the director
- The Fire Within (Le Feu follet) (1963) — Trier openly framed his film as a new take on the same Pierre Drieu la Rochelle novel Louis Malle adapted, updating Malle's Paris to contemporary Oslo.
- Louis Malle — Trier repeatedly acknowledged Malle's adaptation as the touchstone he was consciously answering with his own version.