Iceland review - 2016, Page 12

10 ICELAND REVIEW
In Front of Others (Fyrir framan annað fólk) is a
romantic comedy, directed by Óskar Jónasson,
about a socially-awkward graphic designer, Húbert,
whose habit of mimicking others jeopardizes his
relationship with Hanna, the woman he loves. Set
in Reykjavík, the film also features Húbert’s boss,
Friðrik, whose fascination with Italy and irresistible
women defines his character, and Hanna’s relative,
Rósa, whose fascination with Friðrik greatly sur-
passes her fondness for his intolerable children.
Finally, there is Hanna’s father, Finnur, whose focus
of obsession is Icelandic rock star Bubbi Morthens,
leaving little room for interest in others. This is a
humorous film of credible characters, clever script
and convincing acting. BY VALA HAFSTAÐ.
Often lazily labeled ‘tech-
no,’ the supremely-talented
Árni Grétar (better known
as Futuregrapher) recent-
ly released his latest album
through his own Möller
Records label. Each track is
named and influenced after a
place closely-linked to Árni.
Hrafnagil, the album’s title,
translates as ‘Raven Ravine’—a
childhood play place for the
artist himself. ‘Pollurinn’ has
the sounds of an Icelandic hot
tub bubbling and gently-chim-
ing piano, in direct contrast to
squealing feedback. ‘Suðureyri’
is as wild as the West Fjords
town after which it is named.
‘Stóri-Laugardalur’ contains a
sample of Árni’s young son,
whilst ‘Hóll’ is moving, yet min-
imalistic. This isn’t just techno,
it’s deeply personal, intelligent
music that has a sense of per-
son and place running through
it like a warm Icelandic stream.
BY EDWARD HANCOX.
REVIEWS
The Little Book of Icelandic is a humorous description of our language, written
by Alda Sigmundsdóttir. As usual in her series of books about Icelanders, Alda
good-naturedly makes fun of her fellow countrymen and, this time, their
language. The book touches on basic grammar rules, the nation’s immense interest
in recycling old words (despite being sloppy about recycling in general) and covers
numerous idiosyncrasies of the language, including an explanation of the idioms ‘to
unravel someone’s intestines’ and ‘playing chess with the pope,’ the latter of which
surprisingly involves a worse smelling activity than the former. There is invalu-
able information to be found; such as a chapter on swearwords and one on the
special benefits that come with fluency in a language next to no one understands.
BY VALA HAFSTAÐ.
▶ SENSE OF PLACE
▶ HIDING BEHIND OTHERS
▶ TINY TALE OF OUR TONGUE
CULTURAL CURIOSITIES
Our critics take a look at three recent Icelandic releases: Óskar Jónasson’s romantic comedy
In Front of Others; Futuregrapher’s latest album Hrafnagil and Alda Sigmundsdóttir’s
newest addition to the Little Book collection, The Little Book of Icelandic.