Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.12.2015, Qupperneq 41

DINNER
6 COURSE MENU
STARTS WITH A “REFRESHING“ SHOT
OF THE NATIONAL SNAPS BRENNIVÍN
FOLLOWED BY A BITE-SIZED TASTE OF PUFFIN
OCEAN PERCH
Slow cooked ocean perch, beetroot purée, spicy
butter, serrano ham, beetroot
MINKE WHALE
Shallot vinaigrette, crispy Jerusalem artichokes
SEA TROUT
Yuzu mayo, tru­e mayo, crispy quinoa, apple
PLAICE
Samphire, green asparagus, blood orange, lime beurre blanc
RACK OF FREE RANGE ICELANDIC LAMB
Lamb fillet, leeks, pickled onions, browned celeriac, baked
carrots, spinach and dill cream
Dessert by pastry chef Axel Þ.
CHOCOLATE ROSE
Chocolate mousse, raspberry gel, Sacher layer
7.990 kr.
Austurstræti 16 101 Reykjavík apotek@apotekrestaurant.is
ICELANDIC GOURMET MENU
Freshly caught seafood and free range lamb – with a modern twist
FROM 17:00
apotek.is
OUTSIDE
FESTIVAL
Much buzz sur-
rounded the Reyk-
javík International
Film Festival premiere of ‘Sparrows’
(‘Þrestir’), director Rúnar Rúnarsson's
second feature film. It begins as a clas-
sic coming-of-age story, focusing on
16-year-old Ari (Atli Óskar Fjalarsson)
as he struggles with being uprooted
from his life in Reykjavík with his
mother, transplanted to a small town
in the Wesfjords to live with his absent
father Gunnar (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson).
As Ari attempts to adjust to the
different way of life in a small town,
he also must deal with more personal
issues brought to light by his move—
mainly feeling abandoned, first by
his father as a young boy when his
parents split, and now by his mother,
who is moving abroad with her Dan-
ish husband. Ari's father cares for him
and tries to make up for lost time, but
struggles in part because of the differ-
ences in their personalities (Ari is a
singer in a boy's choir and Gunnar is a
gruff fisherman), and because he is an
alcoholic.
If this tense relationship wasn't
enough, Ari is isolated by some of his
former childhood friends, most nota-
bly Lára (Rakel Björk Björnsdóttir).
Their initial reunion is one of excite-
ment, spoiled by Lára's asshole boy-
friend, who is a posturing douchebag.
When Ari tries to hang out with her
at a party, her boyfriend threatens
to beat the shit out of him, and that
seems to be the end of one of his two
real friendships there. Add to that his
crush on Lára, and you've got the reci-
pe for a very lonely 16-year-old.
Without divulging the entire plot,
it's safe to say this coming-of-age tale
is not lighthearted, although there
are some darkly comedic moments
done in a typically Icelandic way.
There are a couple of no-nonsense
depictions of the horrible and inevi-
table loss of innocence that is often
skipped over in coming-of-age narra-
tives. These scenes seem to be crucial
to what ‘Sparrows’ is about, and make
for a more critical viewing experience.
The film also doesn't follow the script
of "sheltered city boy leaves city and
meets wacky and backwards country
folk who teach him valuable lessons in
a zany way," which is an easy trope to
fall into in Icelandic film.
Ari’s interactions with the few oth-
er characters are substantive; some-
times funny, sometimes heartbreaking,
sometimes just mundane, but always
serving to further illuminate each
character. Atli does a great job of mak-
ing Ari a sympathetic character, which
is a no mean feat for a 16-year-old in
the height of his "No one understands
me!!!!!" angst. Instead of presenting
what could have easily been an irritat-
ing stereotype, Atli portrays Ari in a
sensitive manner that invites the view-
er to empathize, given that just about
everyone has felt at some point that no
one can truly feel their pain.
Sophia Olsson’s cinematography is
gorgeous, and captures the feeling of
being in a small Westfjords town quite
well. With mountains framing every
shot, and thus every character inter-
action, you can feel the closeness and
mild claustrophobia of a place with a
population of only a couple hundred.
These shots don't linger for too long
on the obvious beauty of the land-
scape, illustrating the story rather than
digressing into scenery porn. The con-
stant daylight during the many party
scenes and Ari-lying-in-bed scenes il-
luminates them with a clarity that un-
derscores the disturbing and emotion-
ally fraught moments.
Gunnar Óskarsson's sound design
is spare and intentional, a nice compli-
ment to the clean visuals. The actual
soundtrack is minimal, with Ari's sing-
ing being the only real musical back-
ing to a few scenes, notably the open-
ing where he performs with his choir,
and midway through the film where
he sings in an empty water tower for
his coworker at a fish processing plant.
Many contemporary films seem to rely
too heavily on soundtracks to pull the
emotional weight of a scene, whereas
‘Sparrows’ allows the acting, directing,
and script to stand on their own and
convey exactly what director Rúnar
intended.
Though several Icelandic films be-
fore this have featured a person from
Reykjavík coming to the countryside to
escape or discover or whatever (‘Paris
of the North’, ‘Either Way’), ‘Sparrows’
doesn't feel formulaic. The story itself
is regionally specific and dark in tone,
without feeling forced, allowing it to
break away from the path Rúnar could
have gone down. The ending isn’t
neatly wrapped up either, leaving the
viewer space to reflect on the slice of
Ari's life we've been presented with in
the context of much larger things than
a 99-minute film.
- Rebecca Scott Lord
9
When A Boy Becomes Less
Of A Boy In The Westfjords:
Rúnar Rúnarsson’s
‘Sparrows’
4.5 of 5
Film Review | In Theatres