Having missed the chance to see 'Going West' at the London Film Festival, I was lucky to catch it at BFI Flare. A Norwegian family comedy drama road trip isn't something you see everyday, especially when the father in the story dresses as a woman.
Music teacher Kasper, after losing his job due to his extracurricular activites impacting his work, visits his dad, Georg, who hasn't left his flat since his wife Irene died. When father and son discover Irene has been short listed for the main prize in a quilting competition, the two decide to honour her by taking her quilt to the remote lighthouse island wher the competition is held.
Both men are broken, partly because their mother/wife was the person to keep everyone together. But they are incomplete for other reasons. Kasper has drinking habbits that make me irresponsible and its a wonder if he actually wants to be a music teacher. Georg likes to dress as a woman, he feels freer when he does but of course its not considered the norm. Irene knew he dressed as a woman and its clear that Kasper is used to it by the way he doesn't bat an eyelid at his father's new outfit. The two are accepted by those who they meet on the road, including three girls on a camping trip which is actually a prelude to a planned heist. An old friend picks up the father and son when their motorcycle breaks down and even lends them a car for the rest of the journey. Just like other road trip films about families, troubles from the past are brought up and find resolution.
What I found satisyfying about the story and the characters was that comedic moments are from a light sense of humour or from a completely ridiculous situation, such as the failed heist the three girls try to pull at a petrol station. There is no humour around Georg's crossinf dressing which so wonderfully refreshing. Its not treated as the focus of the story, the relationship between father and son is.
I'm glad I got to see this gem of a film. Having only seen a little of Norwegian cinema, with every new film, I'm keen to seek more stories like this.