Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World (Kasper Tuxen/Neon)

Breathtaking both visually and emotionally, The Worst Person in the World wins the prize for having the worst title of the year. Set in present-day Norway, the humorous story of love and identity follows a young woman exploring her options with careers, men, and what she values. The “worst person” label is a misdirection that belies the richly observed characters.

Julie (Renate Reinsve) is on the cusp of turning 30 with a restlessness that has her trading in medical studies for psychology and then photography. A series of brief affairs ends when she falls for Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), an underground graphic novelist whose popular “Bobcat” series takes on the sexist and otherwise offensive adventures of a cartoon feline. He is over 40 and concerned that he and Julie are at different stages of life, but that doesn’t stop her from moving in. A stay at the country house of his friends gives Julie pause, as their lives center around their rambunctious children and motherhood is not in the cards for her right now.

Feeling out of place at Aksel’s book party, which is full of fan boys and intellectuals who pepper her with personal, judgmental questions, she leaves early to walk home—with a dazzling sunset illuminating a long summer evening in Oslo—but espies a wedding party and decides to crash it. Rebellious and emboldened, she fabricates childrearing facts to alarm a group of mothers and then flirts with a man sitting solo, Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), who’s about the same age as her. Separating themselves from the other partiers, Julie and Eivind challenge themselves to interact in a sensuous way without cheating on their respective partners. They smell each other arm pits, sit on a pile of coats and reveal secrets, and exchange shotgun exhalations of smoke into each other’s mouths, confident that they have not “crossed the line.” Julie eventually chooses easygoing barista Eivind over Aksel because, she says, “I feel like a spectator in my own life. Like I’m playing a supporting role in my own life.” However, her restiveness rears its head again as she questions the new relationship, and when she learns Aksel is seriously ill.

Political awareness is noticeably a theme throughout. Aksel finds himself on the defensive in an interview saying that his art expresses dark thoughts, not his real-life opinions. Meanwhile, Julie has written a piece called “Oral Sex in the Age of #MeToo” that Aksel calls “intellectual Viagra,” meanwhile, Eivind’s former girlfriend, Sunniva (Maria Grazia Di Meo), embraces her three percent indigenous Sami heritage and becomes preoccupied with environmental justice.

The Worst Person in the World is the third in the so-called “Oslo Trilogy” by Norwegian director Joachim Trier (in collaboration with co-writer Eskil Vogt), along with Oslo, August 31 (2011) and Reprise (2006), all revolving around young adults coming to terms with their lives. Danielsen Lie stars in all three, and oddly enough, has kept his original profession, practicing medicine, in his home country.

He and the other lead actors are compelling, particularly Reinsve, who sparkles with vitality and charm, and unsurprisingly won the Best Actress award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. But it’s the bouncy music and luscious visuals that turn the ambience into something magical, and this includes some painful realities within the story. Songs throughout (from Billie Holiday, Harry Nilsson, Cobra Man) perfectly amplify the feelings in the film and make for a superb soundtrack. Kasper Tuxen’s cinematography elevates the proceedings with moody skies and emotional closeups. In one scene, everyone and everything in the city is frozen in time as Julie has a revelation and runs through neighborhoods to her new love in his coffee house. It feels like she owns the whole world in that moment.