Efficiently using the time you have always is a balancing act. You’ve got your personal interests, ideas you would be able to work on forever, but you also have got family and friends you want to give enough attention as well. Besides that your job also takes a large part of your week, forcing you to eventually make choices which result in not everyone getting the time they deserve. The risk of that is that you slowly start to grow apart and that it becomes difficult to restore those relationships. That’s also the case in Louder than Bombs, directed by Joachim Trier.
Gene (Garbiel Byrne) lives together with his youngest son Conrad (Devin Druid). His oldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) has moved out a while ago, but visits him to help. His mother Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert) has passed away. She was a war photographer who didn’t survive a car crash. A newspaper wants to write a big article about her, including a number of facts not everyone is aware of and which could put extra pressure on the already difficult relationship between father Gene and his youngest son. Because of the article the three come together and they will have to be honest with each other about their feelings of the past.
This movie has been written and directed by Joachim Trier who previously impressed me with Oslo, 31. August. That movie dealt with a character who had lost his connection with the world around him. This movie not only deals with the loss of a wife and mother, but also of personal connections. The main focus is on Gene and Conrad. Trier shows certain story parts twice, both from the perspective of the father and son, giving the viewer an insight into their motivations. You also witness the parts of themselves they are hiding from each other. The father tries to find a connection with his son, while Conrad only focusses on video games. Louder than Bombs is a realistic drama that slowly unfolds in a non-linear fashion and slowly gives you insight into the psyche of its characters.
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