Norway (2014 film) explained

Norway
Director:Yannis Veslemes
Music:Felizol
Cinematography:Christos Karamanis
Editing:Yannis Chalkiadakis
Studio:Horsefly Productions
Runtime:73 minutes
Country:Greece

Norway (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Νορβηγία) is a 2014 Greek black comedy horror film written and directed by Yannis Veslemes, who also composed its score under the alias Felizol.[1] Set in 1984, the film stars Vangelis Mourikis as a hedonistic vampire named Zano, who arrives in Athens and becomes involved in an elaborate plot with a couple he meets at a disco club.[2]

Norway premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on 7 July 2014.[3]

Production

Development

Writer-director Yannis Veslemes described the character of Zano as "A vampire that combines everything I love and hate about New Greeks."[4] The film derives its title from the 1984 song "Norway" by the Greek band Without a Necklace.

Filming

Filming took place in the summer of 2012.

Reception

Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter called Norway "a feverish exercise in heavily stylized weirdness", noting Veslemes's "bold ideas and stylistic verve" but writing that the film "suffers from a rambling plot and too many digressions into surreal whimsy that undermine the main narrative."

In 2023, Matt Donato of IGN ranked Norway number 19 on his list of the 25 best vampire movies of all time, writing, "I promise you will never see a groovier, more fleet-of-foot vampire hallucination than Norway".[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Norway': Karlovy Vary Review. Dalton. Stephen. 15 July 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. 29 July 2023.
  2. Web site: Greek Vampire Must Dance In Yiannis Veslemes' Trippy Norway. Brown. Todd. 2 July 2014. Screen Anarchy. 29 July 2023.
  3. Web site: Η «Νορβηγία» του Γιάννη Βεσλεμέ στο φεστιβάλ του Κάρλοβι Βάρι. Krassakopoulos. George. 3 June 2014. Flix.gr. el. 29 July 2023.
  4. Web site: Οθόνες / H "Νορβηγία" θα συζητηθεί πολύ το φετινό φθινόπωρο. 14 August 2014. Lifo. el. 29 July 2023.
  5. Web site: The 25 Best Vampire of All Time. Donato. Matt. March 9, 2023. IGN. July 29, 2023.