Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.11.2016, Qupperneq 40

Movies 40The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 17 — 2016
For a certain part of the popula-
tion, Hrafn Jónsson’s furious and
hillarious political screeds have
become their political voice. His
writings, published first in Icelan-
dic news mag Kjarninn and soon
coming out in book form, hap-
pened in part by accident. Hrafn,
a film editor by trade, used the off
moments while rendering his work
to make mostly political comedy
in image and text to post on his
Facebook wall, to amuse himself
and his friends. This took off in a
major way, and after accumulating
a large number of FB followers, he
was cajoled into his current post
at Kjarninn. Since we’re all sick of
politics right now, we asked Hrafn
to go back to his roots, and tell us
about his five favorite films.
Hrafninn Flýgur
This 1985 viking movie Kurosawa
knockoff is criminally underrated.
Yes, the acting is “creative” in parts.
Yes, the soundtrack only consists
of one melody played over and over
again exclusively on pan flute. But
it has more true grit than any other
Icelandic movie. At its heart is a
simple revenge story of a boy who
witnesses his parents being mur-
dered and his sister kidnapped.
His whole life builds towards this
inevitable moment of vengeance
that gets muddied by the reality of
family and loyalty. No simple an-
swers or clear truths. Also some
super-badass throwing knives.
Sódóma Reykjavík
I think every western culture
has their own version of 'The Big
Lebowski'; like an ancient folk-
tale being whispered in the wind.
Here the MacGuffin isn’t a room-
tying rug but a TV remote control.
Axel’s mother loses the TV remote
so he must go on a quest into the
not-so-scary Icelandic criminal
underworld to get it back. Like
with many great comedies it’s not
really about the plot, but the char-
acters; the oldest form of comedy
is watching a couple of idiots who
think they’re smart trying to fig-
ure stuff out.
Rokk í Reykjavík
This 1982 documentary about the
booming early 80s punk scene is
great because it manages to per-
fectly freeze a moment in time. It
has so much texture and dimen-
sion just in the way it encapsu-
lates a certain ambiance for me
as a viewer who didn’t actually
witness the history it is telling. It
still keeps drawing a lot of view-
ers because you get unique win-
dow into the start of the career
of a 15-year-old Björk, but to me
the most interesting parts are
all the kids who are playing rock
and roll, who maybe kind of suck
but are empowered by the punk
scene. Also just the unbridled en-
thusiasm of young teens sniffing
glue. Must have been some magi-
cal years.
Benjamín Dúfa
A terribly tragic drama masquer-
ading as a children’s adventure
movie. It’s based on a novel that,
like the movie, lulled me into a
false sense of security before tear-
ing me to shreds. It’s a story of a
group of boys who start a knights
order to protect their neighbour-
hood from bullies and wrongdoers.
It’s all fun and games before some-
thing terrible happens and we are
all forced to contemplate what it
all means in the end. A great story
that proves that children really
enjoy being mentally devastated.
Blóðhefnd (honorable mention)
A terrible movie. Terrible acting,
mostly terrible cinematography,
a dumb screenplay. But I love it.
It’s a complete love you can only
have for pure, unironic B movies.
A man with a “particular set of
skills” returns home after a seven-
year absence to find his brother
entangled in a human trafficking
organization. What follows can
only be described as a karate-
based revenge thriller where our
protagonist leaves behind a bloody
trail of rounhousekicked bodies.
It’s obviously made for no money,
but with pure passion. It honestly
harkens back to the mid-80s mar-
tial arts knockoffs like 'American
Ninja'; terribly constructed films
with such magical kitsch value
that it overcomes any shortcom-
ings. It’s bad, fun, cheap and made
with nothing but pure passion.
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Words HRAFN JÓNSSON and SVEINBJÖRN PÁLSSON
Photo ART BICNICK
Hrafn Jónsson's
Top 5 Movies
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