Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2021, Blaðsíða 22

Half-Sheep, Half-
Baby, A Messa%e
from the Future &
Love In Vain
2021 in Icelandic cinema
Words: Valur Grettisson Photo: Still from 'Last and First Men'
Films
'Last And First Men' is screening
sporadically in Bíó Paradís, other
films TBA.
After the incredible and, to be
fair, unexpected success of the
Icelandic film industry last year,
it seems the prognosis for 2021 is
strong. This year, we’ll be blessed
by everything from the final pro-
duction of late legendary com-
poser Jóhann Jóhannsson to a
very exciting adaptation of one of
Iceland’s best novels in the last 20
years. Here is what to expect from
the Icelandic cinema in 2021.
Fantastic actors
& love in vain
The novel ‘A Reply to Helga’s Let-
ter’ has a warm place in every Ice-
lander’s heart. Written by Bergs-
veinn Birgisson in 2010, it tells an
emotional tale of love in vain. For-
mer Grapevine cover star Ása Hel-
ga Hjörleifsdóttir will direct the
romantic picture, which we expect
will be a domestic success—just
as a theatrical version was a huge
success a few years ago.
But what’s truly exciting here
are the lead actors, "orvaldur Daví!
Kristjánsson, or Thor Kristjáns-
son as he’s known in Hollywood
(we understand, pronouncing
‘"orvaldur’ is bor-
derline impossible
for non-Icelanders),
and Hera Hilmars.
Thor also acted in
Ása Helga’s debut
feature fi lm ‘The
Swan’, but interna-
tional readers might
recognise him from
‘Dracula Untold’ or
the fantastic Netflix
series ‘White Lines’. Hera, mean-
while, is no stranger to big produc-
tions. She played the lead in the
adaptation of Philip Reeve’s fan-
tasy novel ‘Mortal Engines’. See-
ing them together will be quite the
treat for Icelandic moviegoers—as
well as the rest of the world.
A lamb & a child
Now, this next one is interesting
for a few reasons. First off, Sjón
wrote the script in collaboration
with director Valdimar Jóhanns-
son. The film is called ‘D#ri!’ in
Icelandic (‘The Animal’) or ‘Lamb’
in English. For those that don’t
know Sjón, he’s a smashing poet
that wrote many lyrics for Björk.
But wait, there’s more. He is
also currently writing a script with
Robert Eggers—the highly antici-
pated ‘The Northman’. Starring in
that film are Noomi Rapace, who
needs no introduction, and be-
loved Icelandic actor Hilmar Snær
Gu!nason. The plot is, well, quite
different. It’s about a couple who
adopt a newborn child that is half-
sheep, half-human. Need we say
more?
Jóhann’s last film
Last but not least, the afore-
mentioned final work of Jóhann
Jóhannsson. The famed composer
directed this film,
called ‘Last And First
Men’, and it ’s hit-
ting cinemas as we
speak. Narrated by
none other than Til-
da Swinton, the film
is based on a book,
more of philosophi-
cal thoughts about
the future rather
than a regular novel,
written by author and philosopher
Olaf Stapledon, which is a message
from the future to present human-
kind.
Jóhann Jóhannsson was one of
Iceland’s brightest stars, writing
legendary scores such as his Gold-
en Globe-winning effort in ‘The
Theory of Everything.’ He died
tragically in 2018 at only 49 years
old.
But when it comes to Jóhann,
you know to expect something dif-
ferent—something otherworldly.
We couldn’t be more excited to see
what he’s cooked up and to honour
his legacy.
Film
Space, man
“It’s about a
couple who
adopt a new-
born child that
is half-sheep,
half-human.”
THE SWEETEST
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