INSOMNIA (1997) - Finally got into the original version. | 10% for SL Charity
INSOMNIA (1997) – Norway
Dir: Erik Skjoldbjærg
My Rating - 4/5
I have this kind of a ‘rule’, to always watch the original movies before their remakes. Especially if the Original one has decent ratings. I got this um... opinion, or whatever, remakes are just polishing shoes. If I see a remake first and praise it for everything, I would be praising the shoe polisher for making the shoe. And also, I got a feeling that whatever the base rooted idea for a certain movie is in its heart, and it can never be remade to give the same exact output. I mean, it would almost always be lower because the heart-related root cannot be stolen. In my opinion, the only way to better, or at least level with the original film is to change the deliverables. Alter from the original. We have several examples for this, like Suspiria.
Anyway, not going to talk about Nolan’s Insomnia (2002) here. Although that was one time, I made a mistake with my rule. When I watched that Insomnia remake, I didn’t know that there was an original one that existed. Thanks to Nolan, I guess. The guy’s the best out there to reach the audience.
Insomnia 1997 is a Norwegian Crime Thriller film directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. I think I have caught that name before somewhere while researching, but don’t remember how. Anyway, the cast consists of Stellan Skarsgård, an actor I’ve seen in several movies, and new faces Sverre Anker Ousdal, Bjørn Floberg, and Gisken Armand.
The plot is interestingly woven, blending the crime scene with a brilliant psychological study. A 17-year-old girl is found murdered, and two police officers are called in for investigation, Jonas and Vik. During chasing the killer, Jonas mistakenly shoots Vik. Instead of telling truth about what happened, Jonas tries to pin that death on the Killer as well. All the manipulation almost works out as he’s one of the people in charge, but his own guilt consciousness and the Midnight Sun is beginning to haunt him.
What makes this a great film is its psychological and character study. It’s a beautiful upfront performance by Skarsgard, and the soundtrack is also very notably used. Although I don’t remember much of the American Remake, but I think while even having giants like Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank starring in it, this Norwegian original stands slightly higher.
IMDb Rating – 7.3