Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.04.2008, Page 18

18 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 04 2008 | Article
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After several successful documentaries (The Amazing Truth About
Queen Raquela, Africa United), The Higher Force (opened March
28) is Olaf de Fleur’s first foray into the world of feature films.
A comedy described as “almost a gangster movie,” The Higher Force
tells the tale of Davíð, a petty criminal and debt-collector who acci-
dentally stumbles into the world of international organised crime
when he mistakenly draws the conclusion that his landlord is the
criminal kingpin Mexico-Harald.
The film is destined to be a box office hit for two reasons: First,
the director’s name sounds exotic (a good indicator, cf. Baltasar Ko-
rmákur), and secondly it stars Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos
fame. When The Grapevine caught up with Olaf de Fleur, whose real
name is Ólafur Jóhannesson, we first asked him about his name. He
started to ramble on about his great-grandmother who produced
wine in France, but he finally got to the point: “Lars Von Trier’s name
isn’t Von Trier at all. If he can do it, so can I!”
But how does he explain the presence of a semi-big American
actor in a medium-size Icelandic flick? “The role was ideal for an
American mafia-type such as Michael,” he explains. “We sent out of-
fers to several actors and, to our surprise, Michael actually accepted
the role. When he came to Iceland it was an even bigger surprise. All
through the process we never really grasped it.”
The Icelandic movie industry has improved greatly in the last
ten-plus years. When asked about the recent international success
of Icelandic filmmakers Baltasar Kormákur (Mýrin, 101 Reykjavík)
and Ragnar Bragason (Children, Parents), De Fleur states that their
success was not an overnight thing. “Both Ragnar Bragason and Bal-
tasar worked really hard for their status and at some point in both
of their careers they were almost bankrupt,” de Fleur says. “In order
to become a real director you simply have to face the fact that you
will have to live at your mother’s place for a few more years and
not jump into a new shitty career if things don’t work out for you
immediately. And the first lesson you’ll learn is that you haven’t got
anything when you start out; no reputation and no money. Basically
you have to make a movie out of nothing.”
By Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson
Don Mexico-Harald
Stills from Stóra planið