Reykjavík Grapevine - nóv. 2020, Blaðsíða 14

Think Global,
Bin!e Local
The best movies and TV
shows vaguely related to Iceland
Words: The Grapevine Film Crew Photos: Various Studios
Last year, we would have jumped for
joy were there a mandated reason
requiring us to stay home. What
would we do? Watch Netflix? Eat a
lot? Be lazy without guilt? Awesome!
This year? We’re kind of over it,
not gonna lie. But the Grapevine
staff is here to give their best Ice-
land-related movie and TV recs for
your weekend. Relax and use it as an
excuse to not talk to your family.
Hannah’s Picks
I don’t expect anyone reading this
to be familiar with my personal-
ity traits, but trust me, those who
know me as more than the Culture
Editor of this magazine know un-
equivocally that my favourite film
is and will always be Ridley Scott’s
Prometheus. I think it’s a beautiful
meditation on the nature of God,
the meaning of our lives, and the
innate hubris of humanity. Seri-
ously—what is scarier than asking
your creator why you were made
only to receive a confusing, aggres-
sive lack-of-answer that just creates
even more questions? That said,
it’s probably not the most realistic
scenario. Were we ever to meet our
great designers, who are we to as-
sume we’d even be on a level to com-
municate with them? We’d probably
be like ants to their intellect—just
try to have a conversation about ex-
istence with a fucking ant and then
get back to me. Never mind the fact
that David, the android, does ask a
human why they made him, only
to hear the answer, “Because we
could.” OOOOH! Love it! Anyway,
the film is rife with gorgeous Icelan-
dic locations starting with a truly
jaw-dropping nightmare-creating
bodybuilder-decimation scene at
Dettifoss. It’s just like being there
yourself—albeit terrifying.
You should also check out Game
Of Thrones, one of the best series
of our time which had filming loca-
tions all over Iceland. Just kidding—
skip it. In fact, there’s been a global
pandemic where everyone has been
forced to stay at home and not one
fucking person worldwide used that
time to rewatch it. Thanks D&D.
Valur’s Picks
Hross í Oss (‘Of Horses And Men’)
is so oddly unique that it feels like
drinking from a pure spring while
listening to the most beautiful
poem ever written—which is “Fer-
!alok” by Jónas Hallgrímsson, just
to be clear. This movie is a compila-
tion of stories about Icelandic peo-
ple, their struggles and their horses.
The movie, directed by Benedikt
Erlingsson, won the Nordic Coun-
cil Prize in 2014—it was the first
Icelandic movie to take home the
prestigious award.
If you’re a horse-hating monster,
you can’t go wrong with any of Bene-
dikt’s other movies. His film Wom-
an At War is also a masterpiece
and Jodie Foster is actually working
on remaking the movie for the US
market, which seems to have issues
with listening to any language other
than English in theatres.
Andie’s Picks
My favourite Icelandic movie of all
time is Djöfleyjan, which tells the
story of a working class Icelandic
family at the tail end of the Ameri-
can occupation of Iceland after
World War 2. This story is pretty
heartbreaking, albeit with a touch
of comedy, and the characters are
all well-rounded and sympathetic.
But no recommendation of Icelan-
dic films would be complete with-
out mentioning Me! allt á hreinu,
a musical comedy involving two
Icelandic bands: Stu!menn and
Gr"lurnar. It’s hard to say what
the plot of this film is beyond “two
bands tour Iceland and get up to
shenanigans” but pretty much ev-
eryone in Iceland has seen this film
at least 50 times, so watching it for
yourself will give you conversation
fodder with the locals.
If you’re in the mood for something
so bad it’s, well, not exactly good but
certainly memorable, then definite-
ly check out Blossi/810551. I won’t
ruin the experience of watching this
film for the first time by saying any-
thing about the plot; this is a film
best watched with a clean slate.
In terms of television, you ab-
solutely cannot go wrong with Jón
Gnarr’s brilliant series Nætur-
vaktin. This series, a cringe com-
edy that recounts the adventures of
night shift gas station workers, is
probably the best Icelandic televi-
sion comedy series ever made.
Iona’s Picks
“A man living a dull life dreams
up romantic and action-filled sce-
narios in order to escape from
monotony”—I think that’s some-
thing we can all relate to in a global
pandemic. If there’s one thing The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty was
consistently praised for, it was the
cinematography, which established
every scene like a photograph you’d
see in National Geographic or Life
magazine, where Walter Mitty ac-
tually works in the film. And fortu-
nately for us, loads of it was set in
Iceland. Witness Ben Stiller long-
boarding through Sey!isfjör!ur and
speeding away in the car of a local
Icelander as Eyjafjallajökull erupts
behind him. Höfn and Stykkishól-
mur were also used in the film’s
Greenland scenes (wait, what?)
whilst Vatnajökull National Park
made its acting debut as Afghani-
stan and the Himalayas. We’re not
sure if disguising Iceland in this
manner is a backhanded compli-
ment or an insult, but let’s assume
the former.
If you feel like bursting a few
brain cells, you could also check
out Fast And Furious 8, hailed by
some as “the worst Fast and Furi-
ous ever.” With a car chase through
North Iceland and a Russian subma-
rine bursting through the surface of
Lake M"vatn, what could feel more
classically Icelandic?
Jess’s Picks
The ultimate origin story, Joker tells
the tale of Arthur Fleck, a clown and
stand up comedian who turns to a
life of crime after being shunned by
society. Strictly speaking not part
of the DC Universe, Joker is a tense
psychological thriller that sees the
villain become the hero. Descend-
ing into insanity, Arthur—played
exquisitely by Joaquin Phoenix—be-
comes something of a revolution-
ary, inspiring the downtrodden to
step up against the wealthy and
powerful. It’s a clever telling of the
Joker’s story, that may just have
you rewatching Batman films in a
different light and with an under-
standing of why the Joker is how he
is, which, dare I say it, may make
you actually feel sorry for him...?
Winner of multiple awards, includ-
ing the Academy Award and Golden
Globe for our gal Hildur Gu!nadót-
tir for her stunning soundtrack.
The film is exceptional but is just
as sublime if you sit with your eyes
shut for the whole thing because the
music is *chef’s kiss*.
And for the sci-fi fans, Interstel-
lar is a must. Set in a future where
the Earth has become uninhabit-
able, a group of explorers are sent
out to find a new home for mankind
and that new home is, of course,
Iceland. Filmed at Svínafellsjökull
and Máfabót glacier, Iceland does a
beautiful job of looking like a vast
and barren alien planet that you def-
initely would not want to get stuck
on.
14The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09— 2020Best of Reykjavík
Joy, Sustainability
& Honesty
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