How Long Is “Oslo, August 31st”?

Norwegian drama about a day in the life of Anders, a recovering drug addict. Reaching the end of a treatment course at a rehab centre, Anders is clean and has a day's leave in Oslo to go to a job interview and see old friends, where he takes stock of himself and his situation. (In Norwegian with English subtitles), A man who can't sort out the wreckage of his life wonders what sort of future he deserves in this drama adapted from a novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle. Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) is a struggling writer from a successful family who stumbled into bad habits and is soon to be released from a treatment center for drug addiction. Describing himself as "a spoiled brat who (messed) up," Anders has pinned his hopes for the future on a job at a magazine in Oslo, and after being discharged he heads into the city. There he meets up with an old friend, Thomas (Hans Olav Brenner), who has turned his back on drug-fueled carousing and now looks after his children; their conversation makes it obvious Anders isn't feeling comfortable on the outside, and his job interview is little short of disastrous. As Anders wanders Oslo and crosses paths with former friends and acquaintances, most of whom don't seem especially happy to see him, he ponders the future that lies before him and contemplates taking his own life. Oslo, August 31st was directed by Joachim Trier, a cousin of noted filmmaker Lars von Trier; the film was an official selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.