HOPE is an extremely private and fragile story evolving across just seven days and which, through a life-threatening event, reveals the feelings of a couple that was previously in denial, forcing them to face their evident yet well-hidden problems. Instead of “simply” chronicling yet another midlife crisis about age, work or ambitions, Anja and Tomas’s crisis is a final chance to prove that their relationship was real and not based on neglect or ignorance. With time no longer on their side, they are forced to be frank with each other in a way they may never have been before in their 20-year relationship. These few dramatic days are an opportunity for redemption and for a reconciliation with both the past and an unknown, possibly brief future. In this process, they must navigate a delicate balance between exposing their own personal unfulfilled dreams and intimate confessions without attacking or hurting each other. Ultimately, both must decide whether there is still any hope for their love, as life rarely gives anyone a second chance to find out.
In a most autobiographical move, Sødahl faces her past with realism and delivers an organically emotional, never melodramatic work whose raw and unpretentious approach is extremely moving and always remains truthful to her own experience." ~ CineEuropa