April 4, 2023
FILM: A-HA: THE MOVIE
DIRECTED BY: THOMAS ROBSAHM, ASLAUG HOLM
STARRING: MORTEN HARKET, PAL WAAKTAAR, MAGNE FURUHOLMEN
RATING: 3 ½ OUT OF 4 STARS
By Dan Pal
I first have to admit: I love a-ha! Every time I hear their number one hit Take on Me I am instantly brought back to the mid-80s when a song like this, the band, their looks, their videos, and sound were considered cool and original. Some might wonder where the Norwegian lads went. Well, as the documentary a-ha: The Movie illustrates, the band never left. They have continued touring and making records (ok, digital files…) well into the 21st Century.
I might be the right target audience for this film. However, any lover of the 80s or pop music in general should also see it. It paints a fascinating and intimate portrait of the three guys who met as teenagers, formed a band, had a HUGE hit, and then had to follow it up for decades.
I find the periods before and after an artist’s peak to be most interesting. What happens to all of those one-hit wonders after they’ve reached the masses and then fallen? What do they do for a job or career? Here’s the thing about a-ha: they never stopped working as musicians.
The film interviews all three members between 2016 and 2020. They discuss their early influences and life in their home country of Norway. Of course, much time is spent on that big hit, Take on Me. There’s the story of how its familiar riff was first written when one of the band members was only 14. There’s also an ample amount of footage and audio of different versions of the song, some that sound very different from what we know. There is also some (although not enough) discussion of the famous video that went with it. Some have called it one of the greatest music videos ever made. Interestingly, the filmmakers here utilize a similar pencil-animation style to highlight some of the band’s early and most recent stage performances.
But again, what I find most interesting about this film is how it explores the band’s life after that big hit. Included is archival footage of a-ha making their second album. As commercial as the band perhaps wanted to be, they also were very committed to expanding their sound. This, they acknowledge, lost them their audience in America. Why do we make artists record the same type of song over and over? It might bring us comfort but what about them? A-ha had many other albums and hits in other countries but their success petered out here not long after the mid-80s.
If we were to view a documentary about U2 or Madonna, we might be quite interested in the various phases of their careers because they remained relevant well after their initial successes. This film requires people to care about a band that had its greatest success at the start of their adult life. We see the friction, the tiredness, and frustrations that have settled in since then. They’ve pursued solo careers and other artistic endeavors but should we care? Most definitely yes! For this is one band’s unique story that is likely echoed by thousands of other bands. Watching these guys move into middle age and beyond says a lot about aging, stardom, success, and finding peace.
If you really want to hear what the band has been doing in the last couple of decades, check out songs such as Riding the Crest from its 2009 album Foot of the Mountain (the title track is not bad either.) Another great song, Forest Fire, is from their 2015 album Cast in Steel which harkens back a bit to the sound of Take on Me. A-ha also released a new album in 2022, featuring a lovely balled called I’m In. So, take these guys on again…
A-ha: The Movie is available to rent on Amazon Prime.