Two eagerly awaited films will appear at Christmas and year's end; Ragnar Bragason's Mr. Bjarnfredarson and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's Mamma Gogo. The former, a culmination of Iceland's most popular TV series ever, The Night Shift, The Day Shift and The Prison Shift, stars Jon Gnarr, Petur Jóhann Sigfusson and Jorundur Ragnarsson. Mr. Bjarnfredarson is a darkly comic redemption story spanning almost fifty years, with emphasis on Georg (Gnarr), an over educated know-it-all, that has just been released from jail, but is still a prisoner of his own past. - Iceland Film Scene – Local: Business: As the year comes to an end, the local scene has been quiet on the surface, but behind the curtains the filmmaking community has been lobbying the authorities to reduce the drastic proposed 34% cut for film funding in the 2010 budget, a measure set to turn the industry upside down. A few days ago...
- 12/18/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
This fall we've seen the premiere of four features and one feature documentary. Julius Kemp‘s English language Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre opened in early September. A horror-comedy hybrid with a strong surreal flavour, it depicts a brutal and bloody battle between whalers hellbent on major mischief and hapless whale watchers who get in their way. Sales company E1 Films has picked up UK rights, with other territories pending. - [Editor's Note: I'm extremely pleased to introduce Ásgrímur Sverrisson to our readers, he'll be providing us with a monthly lowdown on the cinematic happenings from his native Iceland. Despite its miniscule population, they've got a thriving film industry that extend beyond their nation. Visit any film festival that programs international cinema and you're bound to find some Icelandic offerings. You'll find below the basic set-up of our World Film Reports (reporting on the local and international film business) and for starters, Ásgrímur provides us with a basic breakdown on movie-going habits from the land of reindeer, tundra, Björk and Sigur Rós.] To begin with, some background: Iceland has a tiny population of around 320.000 people, but we are avid moviegoers with over 1.6 million tickets sold annually (with Hollywood product at around 85% market share and local films around 10%). That‘san average of five annual trips to the movies per person, one of the highest averages around. We make between 6-8 features a year and 3-5 feature documentaries. Local films are quite popular, with over 6% of the population attending them on average &ndash...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
Elvis lives. And he's tooling around a slum in Reykjavik in the form of a black-leather-jacketed Icelander who is jazzed on the American Dream of rock 'n' roll and big cars.
Playing at the Chicago International Film Festival, "Devil's Island" is a rambunctiously edgy entertainment that is scoped, in the inimitable Scandinavian style, through a lens darkly.
A scrappy glimpse at the underside of Icelandic society, "Devil's Island" is another example of an emerging Scandinavian cinema, one not mired in cranking out filmic adaptations of Strindberg or Ibsen dramas nor dominated by the stultifying shadow of Ingmar Bergman and the serioso cinetastes of government film boards. Like Norway's wondrously spry and spunky "Junk Mail", this modest movie is a bracing blend of drama and comedy.
For those who only know Reykjavik as an SAS stop-over on a European budget tour, the capital of Iceland is also the former home of one of the United States' most strategic Air Force bases, Thule. The facility has been abandoned in the post-Cold War era, but when the Air Force left, it left behind not only visions of American culture, but in this case, the barracks and Quonset huts of the base itself. The cylindrical metal structures give shelter to Iceland's poor, forming a housing project for the destitute in the city's outskirts.
In Einar Karason's canny screenplay, the American Dream is cross-connected with the downsliding lives of various inhabitants of this sorry social aggregation. The story revolves around a rollicksome chap aptly named Baddi (Baltasar Kormakur) who has spent his teen years in the good old U.S. and grooved on all the cultural goodies: rock music, Hollywood movies and the pantheon of American entertainers, especially Elvis and James Dean.
Returning to his ne'er-do-well clan in Reykjavik -- his grandmother is a fortuneteller -- Baddi assumes the role of American star. He's a wannabe James Dean, the local hero-of-the-moment for a community in dire need of uplift and diversion.
Invigorated with crusty comedy and riveted with the painful limitations under which these characters face their lives, "Devil's Island" is a terrific human story. Highest praise goes to screenwriter Karason for the robust writing and to director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson for the spry visualization that succinctly conveys the muddy nature of these people's lives.
The cast is well-selected, with special praise to Kormakur for his jaunty portrayal of the Elvis aspirant. Sveinn Geirsson is also a standout as Baddi's more serious brother.
Technically, the film is first-rate. Special praise to editors Steingrimur Karlsson and Skule Eriksen for its vigorous pace and to cinematographer Ari Kristinsson for its aptly murky cinematography.
DEVIL'S ISLAND
Icelandic Film Corp., Peter Rommel Filmproduction, Filmhuset, Zentropa Entertainment
Credits: Producers: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Peter Rommel, Egil Odegaard, Peter Aalbaek Jensen; Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson; Screenwriter: Einar Karason; Line producer-director of photography: Ari Kristinsson; Production designer: Arni Pali Johannsson; Editors: Steingrimur Karlsson, Skule Eriksen; Sound designer: Kjartan Kjartansson; Costume designer: Karlk Aspelund; Music: Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson; Music supervisor: Bjorgvin Halldorsson. Cast: Baddi: Baltasar Kormakur; Tomas: Gisl Halldorsson; Karolina: Sigurveig Jonsdottir; Dolly: Halldora Geirhardsdottier; Danni: Sveinn Geirsson; Grettir: Gudmundur Olafsson: Color/stereo; Running time: 103 minutes...
Playing at the Chicago International Film Festival, "Devil's Island" is a rambunctiously edgy entertainment that is scoped, in the inimitable Scandinavian style, through a lens darkly.
A scrappy glimpse at the underside of Icelandic society, "Devil's Island" is another example of an emerging Scandinavian cinema, one not mired in cranking out filmic adaptations of Strindberg or Ibsen dramas nor dominated by the stultifying shadow of Ingmar Bergman and the serioso cinetastes of government film boards. Like Norway's wondrously spry and spunky "Junk Mail", this modest movie is a bracing blend of drama and comedy.
For those who only know Reykjavik as an SAS stop-over on a European budget tour, the capital of Iceland is also the former home of one of the United States' most strategic Air Force bases, Thule. The facility has been abandoned in the post-Cold War era, but when the Air Force left, it left behind not only visions of American culture, but in this case, the barracks and Quonset huts of the base itself. The cylindrical metal structures give shelter to Iceland's poor, forming a housing project for the destitute in the city's outskirts.
In Einar Karason's canny screenplay, the American Dream is cross-connected with the downsliding lives of various inhabitants of this sorry social aggregation. The story revolves around a rollicksome chap aptly named Baddi (Baltasar Kormakur) who has spent his teen years in the good old U.S. and grooved on all the cultural goodies: rock music, Hollywood movies and the pantheon of American entertainers, especially Elvis and James Dean.
Returning to his ne'er-do-well clan in Reykjavik -- his grandmother is a fortuneteller -- Baddi assumes the role of American star. He's a wannabe James Dean, the local hero-of-the-moment for a community in dire need of uplift and diversion.
Invigorated with crusty comedy and riveted with the painful limitations under which these characters face their lives, "Devil's Island" is a terrific human story. Highest praise goes to screenwriter Karason for the robust writing and to director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson for the spry visualization that succinctly conveys the muddy nature of these people's lives.
The cast is well-selected, with special praise to Kormakur for his jaunty portrayal of the Elvis aspirant. Sveinn Geirsson is also a standout as Baddi's more serious brother.
Technically, the film is first-rate. Special praise to editors Steingrimur Karlsson and Skule Eriksen for its vigorous pace and to cinematographer Ari Kristinsson for its aptly murky cinematography.
DEVIL'S ISLAND
Icelandic Film Corp., Peter Rommel Filmproduction, Filmhuset, Zentropa Entertainment
Credits: Producers: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Peter Rommel, Egil Odegaard, Peter Aalbaek Jensen; Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson; Screenwriter: Einar Karason; Line producer-director of photography: Ari Kristinsson; Production designer: Arni Pali Johannsson; Editors: Steingrimur Karlsson, Skule Eriksen; Sound designer: Kjartan Kjartansson; Costume designer: Karlk Aspelund; Music: Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson; Music supervisor: Bjorgvin Halldorsson. Cast: Baddi: Baltasar Kormakur; Tomas: Gisl Halldorsson; Karolina: Sigurveig Jonsdottir; Dolly: Halldora Geirhardsdottier; Danni: Sveinn Geirsson; Grettir: Gudmundur Olafsson: Color/stereo; Running time: 103 minutes...
- 10/21/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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