Lögberg-Heimskringla - 10.09.2004, Blaðsíða 13

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 10. september 2004 • 13
PHOTO: ZIK2AK FILMWORKS LTD.
Icelandic films in
Toronto this month
Moviegoers in Toronto
will have a chance to see a bit
of Iceland in September.
Among the many films at
the Toronto International Film
Festival, which runs froni Sep-
tember 9 - 18, is Friðrik Þór
Friðriksson’s new feature Nœs-
land (Niceland), pictured
above. Other Icelandic movies
are Skagafjörður, a documen-
tary/experimental film by
Peter Hutton, and Small Mail,
a documentary by Róbert Dou-
glas.
Also included are two
short films by Icelandic-Cana-
dian director Guy Maddin.
Sissy Boy Slap Party (1995)
features Caelum Vatnsdal and
John K. Samson. Sombra
Dolorosa (2003), tells the story
of a widow who wrestles E1
Muerto for the ghost of her
dead husband.
Apart from the Festival, in
September the Icelandic Cana-
dian Club of Toronto (ICCT)
kicks off a new season of Ice-
landic film screenings with
Tár úr steini (Tears of Stone).
This film, based on the life of
Icelandic composer Jón Leifs,
was Iceland’s entry for the
Oscars in 1996. Screenings are
held once a month.
For more information, see
this issue’s Calendar of Events.
PHOTO: DAVID JON FULLER
Nathan concert sells out
Nathan bassist Devin Latimer, who is of Icelandic descent,
with drummer Daniel Roy perform at the West End Cultur-
al Centre in Winnipeg to launch the band’s new album, Jim-
son Weed. Nathan played to a SRO crowd of more than 300.
Opening bands were the Riveters, featuring Icelandic Cana-
dians Mercege and Jagger Martins, followed by Mike Trike.
Silent Flashes in Hofsós
Valgerður Sverris-
dóttir, Iceland’s
Minister of Industry
and Commerce;
Wincie Jóhannsdót-
tir and Valgeir Þor-
valdsson of the Ice-
landic Emigration
Centre in Hofsós;
and Nelson Ger-
rard, designer of
Silent Flashes, at
the opening of the
exhibit. It features
photography of and
by Icelandic immi-
grants in North
America during the
period 1870 to 1910
and will be on dis-
play at Hofsós for
two to three years.
Farmer spins thrilling
Norse tale in Sea of Trolls
telling also plays a big role as
Jack’s life is saved by his ability
lo sing, just as Egil Skallagríms-
son’s was with his
“Höfuðlausn.”
Nancy Fanner has written a
wonderful story as enjoyable to
adults as to kids. The characters
are likeable and believable and
Farmer somehow manages to
make the relationship between
the young Saxons and the
Vikings enough of a love-hate
relationship to create an interest-
ing tension.
For instance, Jack hates and
loathes the Vikings. Neverthe-
less, Olaf One-Brow becomes a
kind of a father figure to him,
though Jack is his slave, and
shows him more trust than
Jack’s own father. And Thorgil,
who Jack at first finds disgust-
ing, becomes a trusted friend
when they are forced to put their
backs together to escape a fate
worse than death.
The story has certain simi-
larities to The Lord of the Rings
and even to the Harry Potter
books, which should appeal to
children of all ages. Sagas and
mythology are used as the basis
of a thrilling adventure and
though more experienced read-
ers might discover a few exam-
ples of poetic licence (such as
Odin’s birds being crows instead
of ravens) that can easily be for-
given.
This book is a difficult one
to put down. It should also be
mentioned that Icelandic is used
in the book as the language of
the Vikings, so go check out
brjóstabam and kettlingaklór.
The Sea of Trolls
by Nancy Farmer
Atheneum Books, 480 pages,
$26.95 CAD/$17.95 US
reviewed by
Kristín M. Jóhannsdóttir
Vancouver, BC
The Vikings have always
had a certain attraction.
Although their reputation is that
of fierce, bloodthirsty warriors
with hearts of ice, they also have
a mystic glory. They are the sub-
ject of numerous books, films
and stories exchanged around
the fire. Many of these have
been directed at children who
are fascinated by heroes,
whether good or bad. One such
book is Nancy Farmer’s The Sea
of Trolls.
Farmer, a three-time New-
bury Honor Books winner, is the
author of six previous novels lbr
children and young adults.
The protagonist of Sea of
Trolls is Jack, a young Saxon
bard in training, who, along with
his sister Lucy, is enslaved by
Olaf One-Brow and his crew of
fierce Viking warriors. They are
taken to Norway where Lucy is
given to Queen Frith, a shape-
shifting half-troll and wife of
Ivar the Boneless. But the noms
have a different fate in mind and
Jack starts out on a journey to
Jotunheim, where the trolls live,
so that he can drink from
Mimir’s well and save his little
sister. He is accompanied on his
trip to Jotunheim by the noble
crow Bold Heart, Olaf One-
Brow and the twelve-year-old
tomboy Thorgil. But Jotunheim
is not a welcoming place for
young children and Jack and
Thorgil need to tmst their wits
and their courage to overcome
the dangers that lie in wait.
The story is deeply rooted in
the Icelandic sagas and Norse
mythology, and one of its most
interesting features is the inter-
play between the Christian reli-
gion of the Saxons and the
paganism of the Vikings. Nei-
ther group rejects the other’s
religion, but accepts it as an
alternative.
Jack, for instance, believes
he will not meet Thorgil after
death, as he will go to Heaven,
and Thorgil to Valhalla. This is
probably the same attitude Ice-
landers a thousand years ago
had, as it was not uncommon that
warriors would pray to Odin for
one thing and God for another.
Viking honour also plays an
important role in the story and
Thorgil dreams of nothing but
dying in a battle so she can go to
Valhalla and serve Odin. The
importance of poetry and story-
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