Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2020, Blaðsíða 28

The Ni%htmare
Before
And Durin%
Christmas
Director Rúnar Rúnarsson surprises with ‘Echo’
Words: Valur Gunnarsson Photo: Still from the film
Film
Screening at Háskólabío, but not yet
with English subtitles.
One of the first scenes in ‘Echo’
seems rather familiar in the con-
text of Icelandic cinema. Man re-
turns to the farm he grew up on,
but now as a representative of the
city. Instead of moving back into
the old family abode, he sets it
on fire, intending
to import prefab-
ricated housing to
build a guesthouse.
He also offers to
b u y e g g s f r o m
the neighbour for
money, disrupting
the barter system
of the locals. And
yet, things seem
a little bit off. The
metaphor is a bit
too strong, almost
parodic. It soon be-
comes clear this is a
rather different kind of film.
Drunks play Matador
Instead of following the fate of
small-town folk, we soon return
to Reykjavík. Polish workers are
cheated of their wages. A mother
proudly looks on as her daughter
practices dance moves. We then
see a parade of fitness contestants.
Drunks play Matador (Monopoly)
and haggle over down payments
on housing no one can afford.
Characters are introduced and
then never appear again. This is
probably a first in Iceland—an epi-
sodic film. Echoes (pun intended)
of Roy Anderson abound, who in
recent films has explored the drab
downside of the Swedish social-
democratic paradise.
But Rúnar Rúnars-
son’s third film can
perhaps be said to
have more bite.
After introducing
some of those worst
off in Icelandic so-
ciety, we peek into
other segments.
There are no clear
winners in late-
capitalist Iceland.
Some have it hard-
er than others to
be sure, but there’s
no easy villains. A
seemingly well-off man drinks
expensive wine with his TV din-
ner alone on Christmas Eve while
looking at his phone. Another has a
fight with his family over the pur-
chase of a Christmas tree.
Two traumatic weeks
What ties everything together is
the most traumatic two weeks in
the Icelandic calendar: the last
two weeks of the year leading up
to Christmas and New Years. A
geothermal hothouse farmer begs
for an extension of his overdraft
so that he can give his children
a happy Christmas but is turned
down. An elderly woman takes her
grandson to the graveyard and tells
him this is where everyone goes in
the end.
‘Echo’ is an admirable antidote
to the common perception of Ice-
land as a nature-loving utopia.
There is perhaps nothing more
Icelandic than the pre-Christmas,
hyper-consumerist rush, which
is then followed by manic overin-
dulging that everyone is supposed
to enjoy but few probably do. Two
men argue over the merits of the
Minister of Finance, one storming
out with his minuscule party hat
still on, ranting that nothing will
ever change unless someone says
something, though it is not clear
the ranting has improved society
very much.
In a way, this can be seen as a
companion piece to Ísold Uggadót-
tir’s excellent ‘And Breathe Nor-
mally,’ but whereas Ísold attempt-
ed to capture society by zooming
in on two women, one local, the
other immigrant, Rúnar goes for a
more panoramic view. We also get
a glimpse here of refugees being
deported after seeking shelter in a
church, although the idea that the
bishop would support their cause
is one of Rúnar’s most cruel jokes.
Deserves to be seen
At 79 minutes, ‘Echo’ does not over-
stay its welcome, and the ending
is nothing short of masterful. The
day after the party, and the first
baby of the year is born, as depicted
with footage from a real live birth.
One cannot help but feel sorry for
the poor child with all this in store.
‘Echo’ won’t be to everyone’s taste,
but it deserves to be seen.
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It's like Home Alone, except Kevin just feels alone in a room full of people
“A seemingly
well-off man
drinks expen-
sive wine with
his TV dinner
alone on Christ-
mas Eve while
looking at at his
phone.”
28.11.2019–09.02.2020

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The glacier
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