Utopia – Nobody Is Perfect in the Perfect Country

This portmanteau film devised by a collective of Oslo screenwriters is a misfire, but its comic snapshots of journeys on and off the road have their moments. The eight tidbits (and one linking story) straddle social commentary and low key surrealism, but generally converge on a droll whimsy that occasionally tips into the obvious. A man takes a swim and loses his clothes, car and family; a woman has her mobile swallowed by a hungry cow... The vague attempt to yoke these 'human interest' stories to a point about democracy and social diversity doesn't really play, but the final sketch offers a lovely image of eight old men sinking into the mud singing the 'Internationale'.