Norway’s submission to the 2021 Academy Awards, Hope powerfully portrays a turning point in one couple’s long love story.
Choreographer Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig, also Beware of Children) lives with theatre director Tomas (Sweden’s most successful export Stellan Skarsgård, ScandiFF19 Out Stealing Horses, Chernobyl) in a blended family. For several years, the couple has grown independent of each other, with creative jobs in parallel worlds.
When Anja receives a shocking diagnosis, their modern life breaks down and exposes neglected love. Alone with her grief and fears, Anja realises that she needs Tomas’ full help and support, as they are thrown into a crash course in mutual trust, and eventually a joint struggle to deal with this unexpected and premature illness. Yet by learning to know each other anew, they unconsciously become principal characters in a love story.
A moving autobiographical work from writer-director Maria Sødahl, the intimate and heartfelt Hope is a melancholy but highly satisfying and award-winning adult drama that has impressed critics worldwide with the impeccable performances and nuanced direction.