Skallamann
2011 · 12m · Noruega
Directed by Maria Bock
Genres: comedy, LGBTQ+, musical
Tones: absurdist, theatrical, whimsical
Jonas, a seventeen-year-old, comes home and tells his parents that he has kissed a bald man; while his father is less reticent, his mother cannot accept it, and the conversation gives way to a musical number involving more and more people.
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A seventeen-year-old kisses a bald man and suddenly the whole neighborhood is singing about it—Bock watches consensus explode into musical chaos and doesn't blink, which is exactly why this works as subversive comedy rather than twee provocation.
The escalation from domestic conversation to collective musical number situates itself firmly in the Brechtian tradition of interrupting realism with song, though the execution leans more whimsical than formally rigorous in its staging choices.
The single decision to let the absurdist premise stay grounded in genuine family awkwardness—no winking, no commentary—is what lifts this from gimmick to something that actually breathes; the music swells around real discomfort rather than replacing it.