There are so many well-known film directors that audiences look to when they want to watch a cinematically elegant movie, like the legendary Martin Scorsese or the incomparable Sarah Polley. Naturally, aside from this ocean of renowned directors, there are a handful of filmmakers that are unknown to the masses yet have created a lasting impression with their work among avid cinema lovers. Without a doubt, the name in discussion is none other than the Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier. Of course, Trier has a short list of credits — precisely five feature films — yet he has certinly made a name for himself in the industry as a premiere filmmaker.
In this short journey to fame, the director first came into recognition with his work on the second installment of the Oslo trilogy: Oslo, August 31st (2011). The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Aside from this, a decade later, Trier earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his movie The Worst Person in the World (via Gold Derby). While more stories will be told in the future by Trier in his directorial journey, until then, here is the list of all his movies, ranked.
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5 Louder Than Bombs
Soda Pictures
Louder Than Bombs is the first English-language feature film directed by Trier, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Gabriel Byrne in the lead as Jonah and Gene, respectively. Louder Than Bombs tells a tale of reconciliation between a father and his two sons, Jonah and Conrad (played by Devin Druid), following the untimely demise of their mother, Isabelle (played by Isabelle Huppert), in a car crash. As the story proceeds, each character is shown to reminiscence their relationship with Isabelle differently, gradually unraveling her secrets. Though Louder Than Bombs is one of the least successful films from Trier, the director manages to pour out several poignant emotions that other films in the same genre fail to deliver so aptly.
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4 Reprise
Nordisk Film
Reprise (2006), marking Trier’s directorial debut, is the first installment in the Oslo trilogy, co-written by Eskil Vogt. The film traces the story of a group of Oslovians in their early-20s, specifically Erik (played by Espen Klouman Høiner) and Phillips (played by Anders Danielsen Lie), who aspire to be writers. They also share a common passion of admiration for novelist Sten Egil Dahl (Sigmund Sæverud). Of course, Erik and Phillips do everything to follow their ambitions, but, without a doubt, fate has a different path carved for them that evolves Reprise into an unexpected yet hilarious comedy drama. With this simplistic plot, Trier immaculately delivers a grounded journey of adulthood, relationships, dreams, and discovery that will keep the audience guessing what happens next.
3 Thelma
SF Studios
Thelma is a 2017 sci-fi thriller that revolves around Thelma (played by Eili Harboe), a shy girl from a religious family, who is gradually discovering and coming to terms with her supernatural abilities. Naturally, in the nascent stage of this self-discovery, Thelma has tragically hurt a lot of people that have crossed paths with her. But soon, these abilities turn into precious gifts that re-shape her understanding of her powers and self-existence. True, Thelma is a bit of a deviation from Trier’s most go-to themes like life, ambition, and existential crisis, among many other things, and yet this thrilling story never fails to strike a chord with audiences. Trier has done an impressive job of carving each character’s emotional arc that makes Thelma a must-watch.
2 Oslo, August 31st
Nordisk Film Distribusjon
Oslo, August 31st is a simple story exploring a day in the life of a drug addict named Anders (played by Anders Danielsen Lie), who is on a leave for a job interview. Naturally, playing on a tight timeframe of 24 hours, the movie has to cover a lot of ground to cement itself as a worthy watch, and it rightly does so. On an off-day, Anders crosses paths with his friends and people from his past, whom he had hurt in the euphoria of drugs. The story builds up further around these elements and ultimately concludes with a gut-wrenching finale. The New York Times sums up Oslo, August 31st as a “perfectly linear story that bristles with suspense and ambiguity,” and truly, that is precisely what Trier’s movie has in store for viewers. It is easily one of his best movies, and even received multiple accolades domestically and internationally for such a gripping story.
1 The Worst Person in the World
The Worst Person in the World is unarguably the latest and the best work of Trier so far. It tells the tale of a woman named Julie (played by Renate Reinsve), a medical student in her late-20s trying to make sense of her professional and romantic life. What makes The Worst Person in the World the best is its storytelling that is relatable to moviegoers who are on the cusp of their 30s. The film introduces every possible facet of emotion that people in their early-30s outgrew through Julie, making it a gripping yet sensitive film. Of course, with such a grounded and simplistic story, The Worst Person in the World has received tremendous critical acclaim and earned Oscar nominations, too, for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film.
