''Monstertorsdag'' (Monster Thursday) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

film from 2004. The film was directed by

Arild Østin Ommundsen Arild Østin Ommundsen (born August 5, 1969) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. Early life and education Arild Østin Ommundsen was born in Stavanger. He attended Stavanger University College, where he studied directing. Career In ...

. It was made by largely the same Stavanger-affiliated crew that made '' Mongoland''. The project also brought in the Danish actors

Kim Bodnia Kim Bodnia (born 12 April 1965) is a Danish actor, writer, and director. He became widely known for his role as police detective Martin Rohde in the Scandinavian crime drama series '' The Bridge''. He became internationally known for his lead role ...

and

Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film '' High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom ''Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far from ...

. The film takes place in a surfing environment in

Jæren Jæren is a traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the largest flat lowland area ...

and in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. On "Monster Thursday," the perfect wave will arrive. The film is about a quirky

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

between a surfer, his carpenter's best friend, and the surfer's wife (played by

Silje Salomonsen Silje Østin Salomonsen (born July 12, 1978) is a Norwegian actress and musician from Randaberg. Career Salomonsen has had roles in the Norwegian feature films ''Monstertorsdag'', ''Jonny Vang'', ''Detektor'', '' Mongoland'', '' Now It's Dark'' ...

), who was previously married to the carpenter, Even (played by

Vegar Hoel Vegar is both a surname and a masculine Norwegian given name. It may refer to: Surname: *José Luis Vegar (born 1975), Spanish footballer * Tino Vegar (born 1967), Croatian water polo player Given name: * Vegar Barlie (born 1972), Norwegian ice ho ...

)

Reception

The film received a " die throw" of 4 in ''

Dagsavisen ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

'', in ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'', in ''

Adresseavisen ''Adresseavisen'' (; commonly known as ''Adressa'') is a regional newspaper published daily, except Sundays, in Trondheim, Norway. The paper has been in circulation since 1767 and is one of the oldest newspapers after Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler ...

'', in ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'', '' VG'', ''

Nordlys ''Nordlys'' is a Norwegian newspaper published in Tromsø, covering the region of Troms, and the largest newspaper in Northern Norway. History and profile ''Nordlys'' was founded in 1902 by Alfred Eriksen, who also was its first editor-in-chie ...

'', and 5 in ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

''."Høstens nest beste norske", ''

'' 14 October 2004

Plot

The story begins as Skip (

) is proudly telling a boy about the only surfer who rode a "monstrous" wave during a storm. When the boy asks when this happened, Skip answers that it was long, long ago.... The story now shifts to a remote coastal Norwegian town. The audience is immediately introduced to Even. Even is a carpenter who has an uncanny tendency for surviving violent situations with barely getting a scratch. He is well dressed but is lounging at a bar and appears unhappy. Even is the best man for his best friend's wedding, Tord (

Christian Skolmen Christian Skolmen (born 28 October 1970) is a Norwegian film, stage, television and voice actor who has been part of the Nationaltheatret since 1995, where he has appeared in The Pretenders (Ibsen), the Three Musketeers ( Dumas) and Bakkantinnene ...

). He arrives late with the rings, but Tord forgives him and the wedding ceremony goes under way. From the ceremony to the reception, Even behaves tense and awkwardly. The audience finally learns some background information when Even is asked to give a speech; during that speech, he recounts how he met the bride, Karen (Silja Salomonsen) in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. They returned to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and married. Then Karen met Tord, Even's more successful and athletic best friend, divorced Even, and married Tord, eventually becoming pregnant with Tord's child. As he says all of this, he creates an awkward moment for the guests. Tord confronts Even for his daring monologue, but Even simply says "You stole her from me". A short while later, Tord needs to travel, and requests that Even take care and help out of the heavily pregnant Karen while he's gone. It is during this time where Karen and Even begin to become close to one another again. Even wants to impress Karen, and takes up surfing with the intention of participating in a local tournament. It is here where he meets Skip (Kim Bodnia). Skip is a retired surfer, and was apparently extremely talented. One problem is that Skip is gruff, aloof, and reluctant to train an adult. Even manages to convince Skip to teach him how to surf, whilst he develops a relationship with Karen. Skip also gradually warms up to Even. In one of the more enigmatic scenes in the film, Tord calls Karen and tells her that he will not return to

. Even sympathizes with Karen, but secretly rejoices. However, Tord unexpectedly returns one day. To make matters worse for Even, the tournament is cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. It turns out that a huge, monstrous wave is expected. Even, lamenting the fact that his life was rather shiftless and uneventful, decides to risk his life and ride the wave during the storm. He goes out to the shore the night of the storm, and rides the wave, as an awe-struck Skip looks on. Even loses his life as soon as the wave crashes down. Coincidentally, Karen is giving birth to a boy at the moment this is happening. Karen and Tord decide to name the child Even. The final scenes shift back to Skip and the young boy, who happens to be Karen and Tord's son. The final scene shows a young Even riding a wave as his parents and Skip proudly look on.

Cast

as Even *

as Karen * Andreas Cappelen as Beckstrøm *

as Skip *

as Sara *

as Tord *

Siri Kalvig Siri Margrethe Kalvig (born 6 November 1970 in Stavanger) is the founder and former managing director of the weather forecasting company Storm Weather Center, which was established in 1997. In 2014 she completed her doctorate in offshore technol ...

as the weather woman *

Pia Tjelta Pia Merete Tjelta (born 12 September 1977, in Stavanger) is a Norwegian actress. Tjelta graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 2006, but had already appeared in many films. She made her film debut in 2001 in the film ''Mon ...

as the Russian potato seller *

Marko Iversen Kanic Marko may refer to: * Marko (given name) * Marko (surname) * Márkó, a village in Hungary See also *Marco (disambiguation) *Markko (disambiguation) *Marka (disambiguation) *Markov *Marku Marku is an Albanian surname. Notable people with the ...

Kristoffer Joner Kristoffer Joner (born 19 September 1972) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Villmark'' and ''The Man Who Loved Yngve''. He was a part of Rogaland Teater when he was 14 years of age until his early 20s. He was one of the f ...

as the doctor *

Lasse August Dørum Backer Lasse is a common masculine given name in Nordic countries. It is also often a nickname for people named Lars or Lauri. People Notable people named Lasse include: * Lasse Aasland (1926–2001), Norwegian politician *Lasse Åberg (born 1940), S ...

as little Even

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0399365
''Monstertorsdag''
at Filmfront
''Monstertorsdag''
at the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway ( no, Nasjonalbiblioteket) was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened i ...

''Monstertorsdag''
at the

Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database ( sv, Svensk filmdatabas) is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the S ...

''Monstertorsdag''
at the

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute ( da, Det Danske Filminstitut) is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. Also known as ''Filmhuset'' ("the film h ...

2004 films Norwegian drama films 2000s Norwegian-language films