A Norwegian romantic comedy drama is probably not the genre that I would gravitate towards, but this critically acclaimed film from Joachim Trier did pull me in bit by bit.
The story revolves around Julie, a young woman approaching her 30th birthday and unsure of what direction she wants her life to take. She starts by switching from her medical degree to psychology before deciding that what she really wants to be is a freelance photographer (and maybe a writer). She starts a relationship with Axsel, a comic artist who is fifteen years older than her and keen to start a family, an idea which fills her with horror (especially after spending a weekend with Axel's happily settled friends with children).
While walking home from a publishing event, she gatecrashes a wedding and meets a barista called Elvind with whom she feels a connection. She starts daydreaming about him before breaking off her relationship with Axsel to be with Elvind instead. During this time she also examines her relationship with her divorced parents, seeing a pattern of broken or unhappy marriages through the years, and also has a psychedelic experience that confronts her fears of becoming a parent and aging.
I would hesitate to call this a comedy and it's not really romantic either, but it does capture something of the uncertainty that is part of moving from your twenties to your thirties when life suddenly seems all too real.
