Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2018, Blaðsíða 42

A Woman Goes
to War
Finally, Iceland is ready for eco-terrorism
Words: Valur Gunnarsson Photo: Still from the film
Film
In the 2014-15 season, a triumvi-
rate of films appeared that set the
benchmark for Icelandic cinema
in the 2010s. That spring there
was Dagur Kári’s 4th film, ‘Virgin
Mountain’ (‘Fúsi’) and Grímur
Hákonarson’s sophomore break-
through ‘Ram’s (‘Hrútar’). The au-
tumn before, the first film by vet-
eran theatre artist
Benedikt Erlings-
son, ‘Of Horses
and Men’ (‘Hross í
oss’), won the Nor-
dic Council Film
Prize, an Icelandic
first, although it
had actually been
released the year
before domestical-
ly to little fanfare.
All dealt, in differ-
ent ways, with the
loneliness of the Icelandic male in
various life phases, and, in some
cases, that of the Icelandic horse,
too.
This year, another trio has ap-
peared that seems to show the
way forward, and this time all the
main protagonists are female.
There was the first film by Ása
Helga Hjörleifsdóttir, ‘The Swan’
(‘Svanurinn’), and then came ‘And
Breathe Normally’ (‘Og andið eðli-
lega’), another first-time feature,
this time by Ísold Uggadóttir. And
now there is ‘A Woman Goes to
War’ (‘Kona fer í stríð’), Benedikt’s
follow-up to ‘Horses.’ Unlike the
first triumvirate, each one of these
films tackles political issues of the
day directly.
Robin hoodless
Eco-terrorism has had a bad name
in Iceland ever since Sea Shepherd
sunk whaling boats in Reykjavík
harbour in 1986, but times have
changed following the campaign
against the damn-
ing of the High-
lands, and we are
now finally ready
for heroes who
price nature above
private property.
Benedikt bravely
drops us in where
most films might
b e c on c l u d i n g.
Ha l la ha s been
sabotaging power
lines with the aid
of a bow, arrow and a mole in a
ministry for quite a while to try
to prevent the environmental de-
struction caused by the country’s
many aluminium smelters, which
have been one of the main political
bones of contention of this centu-
ry. Halla is close to capture, and
has to call it a day after submit-
ting her manifesto with the aim of
changing public opinion.
Why try?
Cleverly, the stakes are soon raised.
Halla is eligible to adopt an orphan
girl from war-torn Ukraine, which
will of course become impossible
if she has a criminal record. This
raises some interesting questions.
Is it more worthwhile to try to in-
fluence big issues, perhaps to no
avail, than to save the life of a sin-
gle person? And is there any point
in self-improvement while our
planet is being torn apart?
But this is not the Icelandic ‘Turk
182.’ In the age of fake news, the
government is quick to put a spin
on things and the heroic Halla is
blamed for lowering the coun-
try’s credit trust in this paranoid
post-collapse era. It’s hard to save
the world with Semtex. There
are no easy answers or cheering
crowds at the end of it.
Cutesy postcards
But the film is not without flaws.
Whereas ‘Horses’ was really like
nothing seen before, here we find a
miscellany of well or lesser known
tropes. The live orchestra is remi-
niscent of ‘Kusturica’ but is at least
consistent. Twins should be used
sparingly as a plot device, and
bring to mind episodes of ‘Arrest-
ed Development,’ though both sis-
ters are deftly played by the won-
derful Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir.
And Benedikt, after his previous
success, now has more access to
foreign funding and probably feels
compelled to include cutesy post-
cards of women on bikes in Reykja-
vik, or speaking on the phone next
to landmarks.
Benedikt is no doubt one of the
most interesting filmmakers
working in Iceland today and this
is a well-above-average picture.
But given the noble intentions and
the talent involved, it can feel a lit-
tle underwhelming at times.
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FILM
A tale of bow and arrow eco-terrorism
“Is it more
worthwhile to
try to influence
big issues, per-
haps to no avail,
than to save the
life of a single
person?”
gpv.is/film
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