Thanksgiving in Iceland

I awoke this Thanksgiving to a very well-behaved snowfall – the kind that outlines every branch and leaf, but stays off the roads. I promised myself that if it snowed I wouldn't leave the house today, except to go to Starbuck's in the morning for my required triple grande latte, but that is a necessity anyway. I drove down the hill past Stan Hywet, and I was entranced by the perfect pyramids of snow atop the fence posts. The drive to Starbuck's can take you through the park, over the meadow and through the river (as it crosses the road, it does not, like most rivers, go under the road) and it was very lovely and peaceful.

Since it snowed, my plan to spend the day at the movie theater was dashed, and so I settled in with some DVD's. Maybe because of the inclement weather I chose an Icelandic film to begin my day.

Nói Albinói, the debut film of writer/director Dagur Kári is a terrific film about growing up on a remote fjord in Iceland. (It was shot in the remote village of Bolungarvik on the West Fjord of Iceland, population 957.)

The very first scene of Nói’s Sisyphean labor was initially impressive, but even more so by the brilliant bookending echoed at the end of the film in a most unexpected way.

Kári uses a lot of blues and greens in the movie, conveying an overwhelming sense of depression and confinement, while at the same time reveling in the natural beauty of the location. The characters are well-developed, but certainly odd. The characters each seem to inhabit a singular location – that is, Nói's grandmother is never seen outside of the house, Iris (the gas station girl) is the only person Nói ( Tómas Lemarquis ) ever sees in the gas station. What would it be like to grow up in a place where you know everyone, where routine is so deeply embedded, and change and strangers are unknown? Nói attempts to bring change to his world, and is foiled at every turn – the most dramatic being the reception to his attempt at robbing the bank. The elders can't see Nói as a danger – he is just a strange boy they have known all of his life, and they do not fear him for a moment. His grand attempt at escape is a haunting image – a blur of color and motion and life that breaks the bleakness of the film momentarily.

I really liked immersing myself into this strange culture that Kári i has depicted. And the ending, well...you won't be prepared for it. I suppose I could relate to what I took to be the “message”, sometimes the worst thing possible can also reveal a new beginning. Once everything is lost you are finally liberated.The final shot is beautifully ambiguous, so you can decide the outcome for yourself.

Cool Obscure Facts:
Kari Lemarquis , who plays the French schoolteacher, is the father of Tomas Lemarquis , who plays Nói. Kari Lemarquis is a French schoolteacher in real life, and the director Dagur Kári was one of his students.