25/08/2026 - Norwegian Nobel Prize-winning playwright Jon Fosse’s first-ever original screenplay is given epic treatment – including a car chase – by director Erik Poppe

Kristi-Helene Engeberg and Leo Magnus de la Nuez in Beloved

“A plot written by Jon Fosse, adapted for the screen by Jon Fosse and Erik Poppe.” With this initial indication, Beloved, unveiled as the opening film of the 54th Norwegian International Film Festival, which kicked off last weekend in Haugesund, does indeed know how to make an entrance – and why wouldn’t it open on a high note? In a year which has, so far, been rather grand for Norwegian cinema, with an Oscar for Best International Feature Film and a Palme d’Or at Cannes (shared with other co-producing countries), we are now treated to an original screenplay by a bona fide Nobel Prize-winning playwright – his first ever, as it were.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Fosse’s plays have been adapted on several occasions, memorably (if not fortunately) by German director Romuald Karmakar, whose almost intentionally theatrical and uncinematic 2004 Berlinale entry Nightsongs was met with sneering scepticism by those viewers who, according to Karmakar, are “so used to seeing American action fare that they have been desensitised to all other types of films”. Picking up the Fosse baton this time is the versatile Erik Poppe, whose flair for action was already quite noticeable in the Oscar-shortlisted title The King’s Choice, an account of the invasion of Norway by the Nazis. Furthermore, for his new endeavour, the director made the commendable decision to have the author by his side, contributing to what can certainly be described as an undeniable piece of untheatrical cinema, Fosse-style.

Beloved, told through sparse dialogue (or a lack thereof), is recognisably a Fosse story presenting notable parallels with that of the dysfunctional couple portrayed in the aforementioned Nightsongs. At the heart and centre of the film are Gerd and Asle, who meet at the small-town tavern where Asle’s band performs, fall in love, have a son and thus begin to form what resembles a family. As Asle’s actual job as a sailor regularly keeps him away at sea for months on end, it almost immediately takes a toll on the newly formed unit. The stench of resignation saturates the air while Asle gives up on his musical dreams, wards off physical contact with Gerd and spends all his days ashore slouched in an armchair, longing for his next seafaring contract. Deeply unfulfilled, Gerd starts looking for a way out, somewhat reluctantly but also desperately. At this point, the couple’s relationship is a far cry from the genuine sparks that first ignited their romance, which the two leads (Kristi-Helene Engeberg and Leo Magnus de la Nuez, both making their feature-film debut) render beautifully. 

The regional, Atlantic Ocean-facing setting of Western Norway (or Vestlandet), epically lensed by DoP Andreas Johannessen, is such a powerful feature throughout the film that it becomes its fourth character – the third one being the couple’s son, played by a marvellous little guy named Audun Gallefoss. These sceneries have indeed provided an omnipresent and often ominous framework to a splendid succession of Nordic classics, from the 1917 movie A Man There Was (written by Fosse’s fellow playwright Henrik Ibsen) to Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord earlier this year. And should any “desensitised” viewers find themselves wanting for more action, Fosse and Poppe also treat us to a car chase. Incidentally, Beloved was originally launched under the title Bad Moon Rising, which may or may not have been a tad too ominous.

Beloved was produced by Paradox (Norway) and co-produced by SF Studios Production Sweden. Its world sales are handled by REinvent Yellow.