Wicked Mike's 13 Best Icelandic Movies
Iceland hits far above its weight of only 350,000 people. It's socccer surprises the world, its music delights. But the reason why this asthmatic most wants to visit that country I cannot afford, is because of its great movies.
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- DirectorGuðmundur Arnar GuðmundssonStarsBirgir Dagur BjarkasonÁskell Einar PálmasonViktor Benóný BenediktssonAddi, a gifted boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys discover aggression, violence, loyalty, and love.Hard-hitting child drama showing the poor side of Iceland that's seldom shown to the world.
- DirectorGuðmundur Arnar GuðmundssonStarsBaldur EinarssonBlær HinrikssonDiljá ValsdóttirIn a fishing village in Iceland, a boy develops feelings for his best friend as his best friend pursues his affections for a girl.The confusion of pubescence masterpiece. If you keen for a double billing, watch 'Sparrows' too.
- DirectorBaldvin ZophoníassonStarsHera HilmarÞorsteinn BachmannThorvaldur KristjanssonA Reykjavik pre-school teacher struggles to raise her daughter while selling casual sex to help make ends meet.A bunch of familiar faces acting in this movie. That was joy alone but absolute bonus that I fell in love with Hera Hilmar.
- DirectorFriðrik Þór FriðrikssonStarsIngvar SigurdssonBaltasar KormákurHilmir Snær GuðnasonPáll is an artistic and sensitive young man. Getting dumped by his girlfriend, Dagny, triggers his descent into madness. We follow him on his way to what seems like inevitable doom; at home with his parents who finally can't cope, and in the mental institution, Kleppur.The world may have gotten to know Ingvar Sigurdsson as the police sidekick in that amazing series 'Trapped' but he has a long history in Iceland cinema. His role here, as a schitzophrenic, is his best.
- DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsGunnar EyjólfssonHilmir Snær GuðnasonHélène de FougerollesA rich father in a fisher village plans to take on the project of writing his life story. But first he has to take on his own family, and everybody wants something...A grossly underrated gem, and surprising that it's so good as the Icelandic film industry wasn't booming in 2002. This tale of a quirkily insane and selfish family deserves to be enjoyed as it is, but also remade (exactly the same) for a broader English audience.
- DirectorHlynur PálmasonStarsElliott Crosset HoveSimon SearsVic Carmen SonneA brother odyssey set in a worker environment during a cold winter. We follow two brothers, their routines, habits, rituals and a violent feud that erupts between them and another family.'Winter Brothers' requires patience. If you watch in the dark, its cold and white scenery will stab you, and the disjointed mine scenes will become hypnotic. This one is for art lovers.
- DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsHilmir Snær GuðnasonVictoria AbrilHanna María KarlsdóttirWill the 30 y.o. Hlynur ever move out of his mother's apartment in Reykjavík? Social welfare keeps him passive but things change when his mother's Spanish friend, Lola, arrives and stays through Xmas and New Year's Eve.Another surprisingly strong movie from long ago. Its a menage a trois with a difference, a Spanish dance instructor becoming the lover to a son and his mother, the son growing up and the mother becoming who she should have been. There's more carnival colour than the topics suggests. It eccentric.
- DirectorRagnar BragasonStarsThora Bjorg HelgaIngvar SigurdssonHalldóra GeirharðsdóttirA girl is caught between the life that took her brother and her own inability to strike out on her own. In her grief, she finds solace in the dark music of Black Metal and dreams of becoming a rock star.Director Ragnar Bragason is well known for his comedies but this venture into the grief of a teen is powerful. And finally death metal nods from Iceland towards its Nordic cousins.
- DirectorDagur KáriStarsGunnar JónssonIlmur KristjánsdóttirSigurjón KjartanssonFusi, a 43 year old man, still lives with his mother. His daily life is characterized by monotonous routine. The appearance of vibrant Sjöfn and young neighbour Hera will upset his old bachelor habits.In American hands, a film about virginity would be tacky. But through the direction of Dagur Kári (who previously made the solid 'Noi Albino'), its a drama about alienation and empowerment.
- DirectorBenedikt ErlingssonStarsHalldóra GeirharðsdóttirJóhann SigurðarsonJuan Camilo Román EstradaHalla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.The most recent hit from Iceland has its own style, and will have environmentalists embracing it.
- DirectorBenedikt ErlingssonStarsIngvar SigurdssonCharlotte BøvingJohann Pall OddsonA country romance about the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human. Love and death become interlaced and with immense consequences. The fortunes of the people in the country through the horses' perception.A subtle drama with shades of comedy. It's amusing, sweet, meaningful and stupid in a good way. It'll be even more for horse lovers.
- DirectorDagur KáriStarsTómas LemarquisÞröstur Leó GunnarssonElín HansdóttirIs he the village idiot or a genius in disguise? 17 year old Noi drifts through life on a remote fjord in the north of Iceland. In winter, the fjord is cut off from the outside world, surrounded by ominous mountains and buried under a shroud of snow. Noi dreams of escaping from this white-walled prison with Iris, a city girl who works in a local gas station. But his clumsy attempts at escape spiral out of control and end in complete failure. Only a natural disaster will shatter Noi's universe and offer him a window into a better world.The beauty of Iceland is easy to sell but there's obviously also darkness in that cold place. And probably a lot of it for residents in rural towns during Winter, especially for the youth who may not see many options before them. 'Noi the Albino' is one of those depressed tales.
- DirectorGrímur HákonarsonStarsSigurður SigurjónssonTheodór JúlíussonCharlotte BøvingIn a remote Icelandic farming valley, two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them - their sheep.It was hard to choose to put last on my list. 'Sparrows', 'Under a tree' and 'I Remeber You' were equally good in their own way but I decide to choose the unique subtlety of 'Rams' instead. The IMDB description will suffice: "Two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them - their sheep."