#Icelandic cinema

[allweknewisdead]

Godland (2022) - Hlynur Pálmason

It's alright. You'll become part of the grass and the flowers. It's beautiful.

[ourlittlesister2015]

Last and First Men (2020), dir. Jóhann Jóhannsson

[filmografie]

Anna (2009), dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson

[roseshavethoughts]

Lamb (2021): A Haunting, Quietly Strange Fable of Grief and Nature

Lamb (2021): A Haunting, Quietly Strange Fable of Grief and Nature

Synopsis- In rural Iceland, a childless couple discover a strange and unnatural new-born in their sheep barn. They decide to raise her as their own, but sinister forces are determined to return the creature to the wilderness that birthed her. Director- Valdimar Jóhannsson Cast- Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson Genre- Horror | Fantasy Released- 2021 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4…

[artfilmfan]

Let Me Fall (Baldvin Zophoníasson, 2018)

[kino-zoo]

Tilbury (1987)

[beautifultimes-beautifulplaces]

Nest (2022) Hreiður; dir. Hlynur Pálmason

[celluloidrainbow]

THE AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA (2008) dir. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson Raquela is a trans woman from the Philippines who dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris. In order to make her dreams come true, she turns from prostitution toward the more lucrative business of Internet porn. Her success as a porn star brings new friends, including Valerie, another trans woman in Iceland, and Michael, the owner of the website Raquela works for. Valerie helps Raquela get as far as Iceland, and, from there, Michael offers her a rendezvous in Paris. But will Paris be everything she dreamed of? And will Michael turn out to be her Prince Charming? (link in title)

[gregor-samsung]

Berdreymi [Beautiful Beings] (Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, 2022)

[theaskew]

[sloshed-cinema]

Godland [Volaða land / Vanskabte Land] (2022)

It’s startling to remember just how recently Iceland declared full independence. For the people in the small village where Danish priest Lucas is tasked with starting a new church, life as a remote territory of Denmark is a mixed bag. Anna, the elder daughter of a Danish man living there, yearns to return to Denmark, viewing life in her adoptive home as tough if beautiful. Ragnar, brought on to shepherd Lucas across the rough Icelandic backcountry and help build the church, grew up resentful of the occupying nation. And things aren’t too rosy for Lucas, who handles the journey with all the grace of an elementary schooler hauled along on a day hike by his parents and struggles to guide his flock. Ever met with Ragnar’s ire, the two wrestle at a wedding reception, their speech falling on uncomprehending ears. But it’s Ragnar who gets the last word in that regard: though he views Danish as an ugly, tiresome language (Lucas thinks Icelandic has too many words for ‘rain’), he does understand and speak it thanks to weekly indoctrination growing up. His final confession is an elaborate blend of introspection and insult, goading Lucas into action. Ragnar dies by the hand of the colonizer, but retains a certain defiant independence.

Perhaps the one thing Lucas can cling to and the one thing he has to offer is his photography. Lugging heavy, bulky equipment across the harsh landscape, he seeks out beauty where he can and finds it in the environment and people around him. He captures his translator Tulkúr shortly before a tragic river-fording, and his love-interest Anna on the beach. Godland approaches this photographic sense comprehensively, interspersing composed pseudo-portraits that follow the emotional arc of the film. Every frame of the film is vignetted as would be an old photo, preserving these moments. This is the claim of the opening passage, found wet plates taken by a priest. But it becomes more literal in a series of images capturing the decay of the body of the horse and of Lucas following his murder. The seasons rotate, the Danish national anthem serenading its fallen son. The whole work is a document, a face preserved by silver nitrate.

THE RULES

SIP

Someone says 'church'.

A photograph is exposed.

It starts to rain.

People singing.

BIG DRINK

Calisthenics.

Evidence of a volcano.

[scholarofgloom]

[oceanusborealis]

Touch (Snerting) - Movie Review

TL;DR – This is a stunningly beautiful portrait of a man’s life that feels both deeply personal and universal in what drives him. It is profoundly moving and full of narrative grace that could have been all melancholy but is instead full of heart and joy.    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this…

[moviescramble]

Driving Mum (Á Ferð með Mömmu) - Review

Road trip movies are so very rarely about the destination. Rather, they are about the emotional journey the character(s) will undertake whilst going about their route. In the case of Hilmar Oddsson’s offbeat comedy drama, Driving Mum, it just so happens that one of the passengers on this road trip is dead. The imaginatively named Jón Jónsson (Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson) has been living with his…

[escapismthroughfilm]

⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆˚Godland (2022) dir. Hlynur Pálmason⋆˚｡⋆ ⋆˚｡⋆⋆˚｡

[lostinmac]

Touch (2024)

Dir. Baltasar Kormákur