The first film of the festival for me and it was an odd one. Described as a comedy about incest but was really quite a stressful awkward drama with some humorous moments.
I haven't seen an Icelandic film before so as a first taste of what was on offer was very good. But I don't think this was an outright comedy, that was misold.
Self help writer Gunnar is bored of his successful books. He wants to write something else but doesn't know what yet. He lives a mundane existance with wife Dsa, who he has been with since they were teenagers and as he son later remakes, they are killing each other with boredom. Apart from writing Gunnar visits his brother who has cancer, in the hospital. He confides everything with him. When his son arrives back home with the announcement that he wants to marry Sunna, who hasn't been with that long, his parents are of course surprised but pleased, that is until Gunnar realises that Sunna is in fact his daughter from an affair years ago. This is where is turns from pleasant dram-com to awkward comedy with an extra large dose of awkward.
If the story was made by an other country it could have been danger of being over the top but the subtle madness of the situation is not over played one bit. Although I would have hoped for more comedic moments just to ease the ever growing tension. There is also the delightful bombshell that isn't just revealed once but three times, each with different effect as well other further moments of truth.
An excellent start to the festival and the hope that I will get the chance to see more movies from this beautiful place. The landscape is seen - and I have to admit it's always so pleasing to see no matter what film it features.
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