Reykjavík Grapevine - May 2021, Page 22

Tra!edy Be!ets
To!etherness
Marteinn Thorsson ‘!orpi" í bak#ar"inum’
explores the beauty of human contact
Words: Owen Tyrie Photo: Stills from 'Backyard Village'
Times are tough. For many, human
contact has been lost as people live
governed by meeting restrictions
for what already feels like an eter-
nity. What does one need to stay
hopeful? A reminder of what we
are; a reminder that we are social
beings who need others to help us
in times of need.
What we need is a film like di-
rector Marteinn !órsson’s new-
est effort ‘!orpi" í bakgar"inum’
(‘Backyard Village)—a work that,
above all else, celebrates the good-
ness of human contact.
Building connections
‘!orpi" í bakgar"inum’ follows
Brynja (Laufey Elíasdóttir) and
Mark (Tim Plester) who, after a
chance meeting in a Hverager"i
guesthouse, slowly form a bond
over their shared past traumas. It’s
a real and grounded look at how
people deal with grief, set in a cold,
harsh environment which, in itself,
is a bit of a metaphor for how the
characters feel with their trauma;
alone, cold and hostile.
Physically, the film is centered
around a guesthouse—which the
director actually owns—where
both main characters are staying
in an effort to escape their trou-
bles. We follow them on visits to
nature, sit with them outside late
at night and see them at their low-
est, allowing us to connect with
them at the same time as they con-
nect with each other.
“The idea was to make a low-
budget movie with what we already
had, so the guesthouse was a good
start,” Marteinn says. “But then,
what is the story? Well, the story
came about because Gu"mundur
Óskarsson, who wrote the film
[and I] were talking about mental
illness because there is a health
centre in Hverager"i. I’ve been
there myself; I went through a pe-
riod of depression and rehab.”
“Now, I am a firm believer in hu-
man contact, in people talking, in
dealing with things together,” he
continues. “I like the phrase ‘Alone
we go faster, but together we go
further.’”
Keep on keeping on
The film thematically revolves
around trauma and grief. It’s made
clear early on in the story that the
characters have something eat-
ing away at them inside—though
giving any more away would spoil
the plot. That said, watching them
slowly come to terms with their
pasts is fascinating. It must be
said that both Laufey and Tim nail
their roles, delivering genuine, real
performances that make it easy to
sympathise with their characters.
“I love working with [these]
actors,” Marteinn remarks about
their performances. “I loved re-
hearsing with both Laufey and Tim
because it was so important for the
film. Laufey was already perfect;
she already felt like the character
Brynja from the moment I met her.
Tim told me that he was enjoying
working on the film a lot. He said
that when working on bigger films,
you don’t get proper rehearsals.
Without that rehearsal time, it’s
hard to connect with other actors
or actresses when filming.”
Would you imagine
that?
In a work that is based around hu-
mans forming connections over
shared problems, it’s safe to say
that a viewer might assume the
film was made in response to or
inspired by the COVID-19 pandem-
ic. Funnily enough, this was not
the case.
“The entire film was shot prior
to the pandemic,” Marteinn re-
veals. “We finished filming in late
2019, around December and then
the pandemic started a few months
later. It’s funny, because the theme
of the movie became a lot stronger
after the lockdown began.”
But even ignoring the pandemic,
it’s hard not to connect with ‘!or-
pi" í bakgar"inum’. Most people
have experienced some form of
trauma in their life and the mes-
sage this film sends is definitely
one that more people should hear.
Life isn’t about being alone; life is
about building connections with
others.
It’s human nature, after all.
Marteinn's film is a nuanced exploration of grief
“I am a firm
believer in hu-
man contact;
in people talk-
ing, in dealing
with things
together.”
Maybe not the best film to double feature with 'Dancer In The Dark'
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