Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 20

18 ICELAND REVIEW
BY ELLIOTT BRANDSMA.
PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
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R Fúsi, or Virgin Mountain, written and directed by Dagur Kári, is
an offbeat love story about a forlorn middle-aged man, whose
safe and comfortable existence living at home with his mother
is disrupted when he strikes up an unexpected romance with
his quirky line-dancing partner, Sjöfn (Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir).
The film won Best Narrative Feature and Best Screenplay at
the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, and its lead actor—Icelandic
comedian and television star Gunnar Jónsson—took home the
award for Best Actor, receiving praise from a diverse panel of
judges that included Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg.
FUN AND AMBITIOUS ROLE
“Fúsi is a movie about life,” Gunnar says about the film that is
rapidly raising his celebrity profile. “It’s about the parts of life we
tend to ignore because we sometimes look away from, or look
down on certain people and judge them.” Although playing Fúsi
required Gunnar to venture outside his comedic comfort zone, he
still found the role fulfilling and challenging. “Playing Fúsi was
fun for the most part, but the most difficult aspect was setting my
ego aside, because Fúsi is so mellow and laid-back, and I would
have had several outbursts if I were in his situation.” Fúsi, a reti-
cent man who has never left home, works as a baggage handler at
Keflavík International Airport, where his co-workers repeatedly
bully and harass him because of his overweight appearance.
As he was writing the script, Dagur Kári specifically created
the role of Fúsi with Gunnar in mind. “He was not willing to
make the film if I didn’t agree to play the part, which was a lot
of pressure,” Gunnar explains. “I read over the script and didn’t
think much of it at first. By the second or third reading, though,
details started popping out at me and I gradually began moving
into aspects of this character.”
FOR THE JOB, NOT THE FAME
Gunnar works several jobs when he’s not acting, earning the bulk
of his living as a carpenter and as a cook on a cargo ship. He
is even an accomplished sea angler and participates in national
fishing competitions every year. “Some of us haven’t figured out
what we want to do yet,” he jokes. “All I know is that I’m a people
person. I like meeting new people and hearing their stories.” *
Icelandic actor Gunnar Jónsson is garnering international
acclaim for playing the leading role in Dagur Kári’s
new coming-of-age film, Fúsi.