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Brudeferden i Hardanger (The Bridal Party in Hardanger)

Director: Rasmus Breistein
Year: 1926
Run time: 1 hr 44 min
Source: Bootleg DVD

This Norwegian film was inspired by a famous painting of the same name, a beautiful fjord with two traditional wedding boats carrying a bride and groom.


Even if the film did nothing besides recreating this scene, it would be an evocative testament to the beauty of Norway.  But there's a great melodrama that takes place around the titular procession, one of the sweetest and saddest romances on the list so far.  These great fjords are somehow the perfect setting for telling an epic tale of romantic betrayal that spans decades.  (This is a film category that needs a Wikipedia page - the only other great fjord movie that comes to my mind is the 2015 catastrophe film, The Wave, which also uses its setting to great effect.)

I don't have too much else to say about this (I did like the film a great deal), except to remark that Norway has been on my mind a lot lately, since I'm heavily invested in Knausgaard's great six-volume memoir.  It is a place I would very much like to visit soon, and though cinematic tourism is not the most satisfying, I found this movie did justice to its country, and I'm hoping that we get a fair number of Norwegian films in this list.



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