Reykjavík Grapevine - Mar 2023, Page 11

11The Reykjavík
Grapevine 2/23
Best before:
March 2, 2023
Hilmar Oddsson is a veteran of the film
industry, making waves ever since his
cinematic debut in 1986. “I've been doing
almost everything in the book: documen-
taries, feature films, whatever,” Hilmar
says. With his trademark stunning
videography, his latest feature “Driving
Mum” (“Á ferð með mömmu”) is a feast
for the eyes.
The art of narrative
“The idea is older than anybody could
imagine. It originates from 1994,”
says Hilmar of “Driving Mum.” That
summer he spent some time in Bíldu-
dalur, the hometown of actor Þröstur
Leó Gunnarsson. “He was telling me
stories about the locals and people
there. He's a very funny guy, and he
tells stories very well,” shares Hilmar.
“I was kind of inspired by the nature of
the stories.”
The film follows Jón, as he takes his
mother’s corpse on a road trip from
the Westfjords to the south coast to
fulfil her last wishes. Set in 1980, the
film stars Þröstur, Kristbjörg Kjeld,
and Hilmar’s daughter Hera. Even
though the story is entirely fictional,
Hilmar draws inspiration from the
likes of Jim Jarmusch. “I sometimes
say I’m waving, I pay homage, or
respect to somebody,” he says, stress-
ing the importance of storytelling
in his work. In “Driving Mum,” in
particular, Hilmar pays tribute to his
late father, a playwright who worked
in the style of Theatre of the Absurd.
“Many of my older films are very
serious, dramatic in that sense,”
shares Hilmar. “I wanted to write
something in my personal style, my
sense of humour, which is partly black
and sarcastic.”
Contrasting perspectives
One of the most striking features of
“Driving Mum” is the use of black and
white imagery, with the stunning
landscapes of Iceland as the backdrop.
“Colours are extremely important for
me. If I look back at my other films, I
could describe (one as) my blue movie,
this is my primary colour movie, this
is my yellow movie,” says Hilmar.
“This story came to me as black and
white. There was no escape.”
Hilmar admits he was initially
worried producers would try to talk
him out of the idea of making a black
and white movie, but it turned out,
the team was completely on board.
“Fortunately, nobody tried to convince
me not to do it.”
“For me, (Jón’s) journey has a
symbolic meaning. We go from narrow
fjords, steep mountains, over high-
lands, to a place that is flat,” the direc-
tor explains. As the landscape flattens,
we witness the transformation of the
main character. “He realises things
he’s never realised before, his mind
opens up and he sees his life from a
different angle — reverse what he has
been living with so far.”
Initially Hilmar planned to widen
the aspect ratio, as the landscape
became flatter. “If you do something
like that it has to be perfect. I would
have to shoot the film chronologically
and for practical reasons, that wasn't
possible,” he admits.
Dreki’s debut
Asked what was most challenging
about making “Driving Mum,” Hilmar
smiles: “Probably the dog.”
“There are very few people that
specialise in animal training for film.
They all have one thing in common —
they're extremely expensive,” he says.
Through mutual connections, Hilmar
was introduced to someone who had
experience working with horses in
another film. By luck, the person had
three dogs and invited the crew to
meet them — that’s how Dreki was
cast in the role of Brésnef.
There was one particular scene
Hilmar was really worried about, as
he wanted to do it in one take. “After
that shot I thought, this dog is a
genius. He can do everything,” Hilmar
shares. “When you're working with
animals, you do your best to make
them do their best. The rest is editing
and sound,” he says. “I think we were
extremely lucky. The only thing we
couldn't do was to make him bark. He's
a silent dog.”
It’s all downhill from here
Before premiering in Iceland, “Driving
Mum” toured international festivals
and won the prestigious Grand Prix at
the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
But now it’s coming home.
“I'm very much looking forward to
premiering in Iceland,” he continues,
adding that he has no expectation for
how the film will be received. “There
are no negative reviews so far. The
first review we got after the premiere
in Tallinn was five stars. It was
absurd,” Hilmar laughs. “I was joking
with my producers — ‘Do you realise
what this means?’ This means it will
only go downhill from now on.”
Winter Lights Festival
February 2 to 4 – Multiple venues
at multiple times – Free
Let’s admit it, Reykjavík in Febru-
ary isn’t the nicest place to be. We
are past the solstice, but it’s still a
long way to go until the midnight
sun allows us to party (and be
outside, frankly) for more than
an hour. The winter storms are
here and occasionally you’ll hear
stories of people (and in some
cases, cars) being blown away
by the wind. The Winter Lights
Festival is one of the occasions to
embrace the darkness around us,
with beautiful light installations,
a museum and pool night. IZ
Pool Night
February 4 — Multiple Venues — Free
Swimming pool night is an
annual celebration of pool culture
throughout Reykjavík. Pools
are wet, warm and open late for
bathers to squeeze in more laps
or engage in more hot pot chit
chat with friends and strang-
ers. What’s more, several pools
around town are upping the ante
by hosting extra special poolside
entertainment. There will be a
choir and circus performers at
Árbæjarlaug, floating relaxation at
Breiðholtslaug, circus clowns and
sing-alongs at Laugardalslaug,
and a circus and light show at
Sundhöllin. CF
Beer Day
March 1 — Everywhere — Prices
Vary
Longtime readers of the Grape-
vine know that we enjoy a beer
every once and a while and you’ve
likely read in our pages before
about Iceland’s tumultuous
history with the hoppy beverage.
With the man hoping to avoid the
casual drinking culture of main-
land Europe taking hold at home,
beer was prohibited in Iceland in
1915. But it was made legal again
on March 1, 1989, and that day has
since been known as Beer Day.
If you’re of age and so inclined,
go grab yourself a cold one and
cheers to beer. CF
CULTURE
NEWS
Monochrome Magic
With a Corpse for Colour
Words:
Iryna Zubenko
Images:
Art Bicnick /
Film Stills
CULTURE
Driving Mum will
be showing in Bíó
Paradís from Feb
17, Háskólabíó &
Smárabíó from Feb.
24.