''Psychedelica Blues'' is a Norwegian youth drama film from 1969 directed by

Nils Reinhardt Christensen Nils Reinhardt Christensen (13 April 1919 – 8 November 1990) was a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. He directed nine films between 1957 and 1969. Filmography * 1957: ''Selv om de er små'' * 1959: '' 5 loddrett'' * 1961: ''Et ø ...

. Along with

Øyvind Vennerød Øyvind Vennerød (22 July 1919 – 27 September 1991) was a Norwegian film director and producer. He was born in Kristiania, and was the father of Petter Vennerød Petter Vennerød (25 September 1948 – 19 September 2021 Himmel og helvete ''Himmel og helvete'' (Heaven and Hell) is a Norwegian propaganda film from 1969 directed by Øyvind Vennerød with a screenplay by Vennerød and Victor Borg. The film was poorly received by the critics, but it nonetheless became one of the highes ...

'', it was the first Norwegian film that dealt with adolescents' use of narcotics, and it was the first Norwegian film to clearly depict the use of LSD. Because it was released after Vennerød's film, it received far less attention.

Plot

The story deals with four days in Lissy's life in which she finds an outlet for a rebellious urge that has built up over several years. Lissy comes from a sheltered home with a conventional father who is a municipal politician. In the new environment she slips into the circle around the jazz group The Blue Bells, where she meets Lillegutt (Little Boy). He is a key member of the gang and supplier of drugs. Lillegutt is a cynical and intelligent judge of character, who has turned his back on a society of hypocrites. Through him, Lissy opens her eyes to the dividing lines between what is accepted and what is real.

Background

Christensen had previously seen success with the film ''

Line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

'' in 1961 and with his Stompa films (1962–1967). He chose to base his last film on

Karin Bang Karin Bang (3 December 1928 – 20 August 2017) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, children's writer and crime fiction writer.

's 1968 novel ''Blues''. In contrast to ''Himmel og helvete'', Christensen chose a more experimentalist style and a less moralizing story, always portraying Lissy's own perspective.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Finn Syversen wrote 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 ...

'' that "Christensen has wisely refrained from using the notion of drug abuse as a polemic topic. The debate on this phenomenon, which is relatively little explored by medical and sociological experts, has thus not been allowed to influence his intentions in any provocative, trend-setting way. ... We fully believe in Kjersti Døvigen's Lissy, who gives the role a character that reveals that she has a certain intuition for symptoms of loneliness in the cynical pessimism that plagues so many of today's young people. ... Repetitions of motifs were probably not avoidable in such a film, but they do not weaken the impression to any great extent. ''Psychedelia Blues'' is a highly worthwhile experiment."

Cast

* Kjersti Døvigen as Lissy *

Finn Kvalem Finn Kvalem (April 12, 1934 – February 26, 1990) was a Norwegian actor, stage director, and translator. Kvalem had his debut at the Norwegian Theater in 1955, where he was engaged from 1956 to 1969. After that, he was at the National Theater ...

as Lillegutt *

Ståle Bjørnhaug Ståle is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ståle Dyrvik (born 1943), Norwegian historian * Ståle Eskeland (born 1943), Norwegian jurist * Ståle Kleiberg (born 1958), Norwegian composer and musicologist * Ståle Kyllingstad ...

as Leif * Ditlef Eckhoff as Wilhelm * Thomas Fasting as Jan * Truls Dramar as Joppe *

Knut M. Hansson Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

as Ragnar Borg * Vibeke Falk as Molle Borg * Kjell Frantzen as Brun, a university lecturer *

Svein Sturla Hungnes Svein Sturla Hungnes (born 21 March 1946) is a Norwegian actor, theatre director, and instructor. Hungnes studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre from 1965 to 1970, and had several small roles at Nationaltheatret during that time. Af ...

Helge Hurum Helge Hurum (born 1 August 1936) is a Norwegian jazz musician, composer, arranger and musical director. Hurum has led several of Norway's key big bands, including the Oslo University Big Band (1969–74), Norway's Radio Big Band (1979–90), his ow ...

as a band member *

Per Jansen Per Johan Jansen (14 December 1941 – 8 August 2022) was a Norwegian stage and film actor. Life and career Jansen was born in Bergen on 14 December 1941. He made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1966. He later had assignments at Oslo ...

as Eigil *

Randi Nordby Randi Nilie Nordby Johnson (May 15, 1926 – March 28, 1991) was a Norwegian actress. She was engaged with the Oslo New Theater for many years. As an actress, she used her maiden name as her stage name. Career Randi Nordby started her career ve ...

as Mrs. Korsmo *

Eva Opaker Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

as an alternative *

Arve Opsahl Arve Opsahl (14 May 1921 – 29 April 2007) was a Norwegian movie and stage actor, singer and stand-up comedian. Opsahl began his career as a comedian in 1942, and played numerous roles both on stage and in more than forty movies. He was then chos ...

as Hans Korsmo * Anne Marie Ottersen as Liven * Gloria Rose as La Bommie *

Espen Rud Espen Rud (born 29 January 1948 in Asker, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), composer, and music arranger, and the son of Norwegian author Nils Johan Rud (1908–93). He is known from numerous recordings and in collaboration with Kari ...

as a band member * Kåre Tengs-Pedersen as a band member

References

External links

*
''Psychedelica Blues''
at the National Library of Norway 1969 films Norwegian drama films 1960s Norwegian-language films Films directed by Nils Reinhardt Christensen {{Norway-film-stub