A Human Position is a film that unfolds in successive tableaux to form a complete picture of the subtle changes and events that make up one's life. It explores the persistence of memory and trauma, the definition of one's moral values, and the possibility of joy.
In Ålesund, Asta is a journalist who seems to be plunged in a melancholic state, for reasons we discover bit by bit. Her supportive girlfriend refurbishes design chairs and plays the keyboard, while their kitten wanders around the house. One day, Asta reads a story in a newspaper about an asylum-seeker who is being forced to evicted from Norway after having lived and worked there for ten years. Gradually, Asta becomes more involved in learning about the case and has to find her position - both in her work and in her personal life.
This beautifully crafted film is bathed in soft colours and a meticulous observation of Asta's life after an unnamed trauma, as external events invite her to reconsider her own relationship to reality. One newspaper article she reads is entitled "Confronting our social conscience", which is one of the topics of A Human Position. It's also a low-key love story with its routines and ups-and-downs, which feels very real.
