Once we rented this movie just to see what it was about. We were fairly impressed. It focuses on Oslo mailman Roy Amundsen, who is sort of down on his luck. Then, he gets interested in a woman and starts following her around. When she leaves her key in a mailbox, he has it copied, gets locked in her apartment, and gets a little (or a lot) more than he bargained for! Some of the world's most interesting movies have come from Scandinavia (e.g., anything by Ingmar Bergman). "Budbringeren" (called "Junk Mail" in English) is no exception. This look at some of Norway's grittier aspects is truly eye-opening. Maybe it's not any kind of masterpiece, but it's still an interesting slice-of-life tale.

i'm glad there are a lot of other commentaries this frees me from telling too much about the story. it is about a postman who read the letters he's supposed to deliver and eventually even throws them away. suddenly he finds himself in the middle of a absurd and even a little dangerous story. but in my opinion just needs this story to talk about the relations between people. and what makes this movie so special is the fact that it actually not just shows pictures and sequences you've seen a hundred-times before.it really has, i can't put it differently, respect for its personal.this means that the persons keep their own personality for the whole absurd-tragic story of the movie.

Although little appears to happen in this film, it is in fact a very well controlled piece about a postman who has opted out of engaging with the world. He accidentally saves the life of a suicidal woman, and through committing this unintentional good act becomes a better person - entirely against his will.The performances are flawless, and the direction unobtrusive, giving the illusion of effortlessness that is in fact very hard to achieve. Despite being a film of great moral complexity, Junk Mail wears its serious purpose very lightly, and is in fact very funny indeed.Certainly one of the best films to come out of Scandinavia in recent years, and one which shows a side of Oslo few outsiders ever witness.

Junk Mail doesn't have much of a story and it's major message seems to be 'mind your own business'. However it does keep one's attention simply because it's totally unpredictable. Robert Skjaestad plays a lazy postman who can't be bothered delivering all the catalogues and other junk, so he deposits it all in a railway siding hidden by a tunnel. He's also a bit of a Peeping Tom, and without giving too much away he gets himself into an awkward situation involving some stolen money. Complications ensue. A bit of a nineties Billy Liar, Junk Mail ends on an unsatisying note that tries to tie up some loose ends but doesn't. Perhaps this is the beginning of a Brave New Norwegian Cinema. Baby steps, baby steps...