It's hard for me to review this one. It is a successful film considering it is the director's first movie (and the lead actor's second). I really wanted to rate it higher, but I don't want to give a false impression. It is an entertaining and touching film but some of the story elements are predictable and have been seen many times before. This film stands out for it's clever Nordic humor, the Icelandic locale and a creative twist at the end.
The plot is about an albino high-school boy called Noi who lives in a remote Icelandic village and dreams of running away. His family life is depressing, he is lazy and often skips school, but in his own way he is rather clever and smart. We get a good sense of Noi's restless day-to-day activities and the unchanging backdrop and predictable locals makes the film feel like a real-life version of the Bill Murray vehicle, "Groundhog's Day".
The music is minimalist; anyone who has listened to Mum or Sigur Ros or early Bjork would not be particularly surprised (or displeased) by what is used here. I was expecting this, but the music works -- sufficiently melancholy and sparingly used. I am always a little miffed when movies use music to accentuate the exciting moments, as though the moments cannot speak for themselves. This happens once or twice where I thought it was not quite necessary. But all in all, the music is appropriate I think.
Some of the romance elements or moments of yearning for life beyond Iceland I found a little too predictable. And then the scene with the psychologist...blech! (A rubik's cube?!) I mean, this stuff has just been done before, more smoothly, in other movies. As I said previously, the fact that it is the director's first film and the fact that we rarely see such a film from Iceland means it still works, but it would've been nice to see more original thematic twists to the characters. Then again, the main characters are in high school and everyone in high school is predictable and cliché, a haha!
Like I said, I really wanted to rate this a 7. But I don't think it's quite as good as it could have been. But! you shouldn't overlook this one. It's not a fast-paced film -- at times it reminded me of the foreign films "Mongolian Ping-pong", "Yellow Earth" and "Kikujiro" in its pacing and bittersweet sentiments. It could've been a bit longer, exploring Noi's romantic feelings or his talents a bit more. Building our attachment to the characters would have made the film a bit stronger overall. Still, it has several humorous moments and memorable characters.
Definitely worthwhile for those interested in Nordic films/culture or tasteful, lower-budget, independent projects.
The plot is about an albino high-school boy called Noi who lives in a remote Icelandic village and dreams of running away. His family life is depressing, he is lazy and often skips school, but in his own way he is rather clever and smart. We get a good sense of Noi's restless day-to-day activities and the unchanging backdrop and predictable locals makes the film feel like a real-life version of the Bill Murray vehicle, "Groundhog's Day".
The music is minimalist; anyone who has listened to Mum or Sigur Ros or early Bjork would not be particularly surprised (or displeased) by what is used here. I was expecting this, but the music works -- sufficiently melancholy and sparingly used. I am always a little miffed when movies use music to accentuate the exciting moments, as though the moments cannot speak for themselves. This happens once or twice where I thought it was not quite necessary. But all in all, the music is appropriate I think.
Some of the romance elements or moments of yearning for life beyond Iceland I found a little too predictable. And then the scene with the psychologist...blech! (A rubik's cube?!) I mean, this stuff has just been done before, more smoothly, in other movies. As I said previously, the fact that it is the director's first film and the fact that we rarely see such a film from Iceland means it still works, but it would've been nice to see more original thematic twists to the characters. Then again, the main characters are in high school and everyone in high school is predictable and cliché, a haha!
Like I said, I really wanted to rate this a 7. But I don't think it's quite as good as it could have been. But! you shouldn't overlook this one. It's not a fast-paced film -- at times it reminded me of the foreign films "Mongolian Ping-pong", "Yellow Earth" and "Kikujiro" in its pacing and bittersweet sentiments. It could've been a bit longer, exploring Noi's romantic feelings or his talents a bit more. Building our attachment to the characters would have made the film a bit stronger overall. Still, it has several humorous moments and memorable characters.
Definitely worthwhile for those interested in Nordic films/culture or tasteful, lower-budget, independent projects.