Why we picked it – At last another Icelandic black comedy.
Synopsis – Jón, an ageing bachelor, lives in a remote house in northwest Iceland with his querulous mother knitting jumpers. Their only contact with the outside world is an infrequent boat bringing supplies of wool and tape cassettes of radio programmes. After she dies suddenly, he honours her wish to take her corpse back to the southern town from where she came originally. He props her up in the back seat and, even though she is dead, she continues to talk to him and criticise. The depths of their fractious relationship and Jón’s lost chance of happiness are slowly revealed as the truth of his wasted life emerges.
The film – A classic road movie, but unlike any you have ever seen. The spectacular Icelandic landscape is on show, even more austere for being in black and white. There is an episodic structure as Jón encounters a succession of other travellers on the road including an almost operatic duet with Jón specking Icelandic and a hiker speaking French, both sharing their frustrations, hopes and dreams. All of these episodes contribute to the unexpected denouement.
Here is a link to an interview with the director and his daughter (who appears in the film) in which he explains the origin and intentions of the film he has made and here is the director talking about it at the Tallinn festival.
Director and Writer – Hilmar Oddsson Cinematography – Óttar Guðnason