Niceland (Population 1.000.002)

I go on explorind icelandic movies, this one was shot in 2004 by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (actually it's co-production of Iceland, Denmark, Germany and the UK). The film is rather short but definitely nice and touching. Its plot revolves around love between two mentally retarded young people, as it is said in the synopsis. But I actually didn't mention their backwardness while watching the movie. They are naive, straightforward and a bit strange, but in this film everyone is strange. And the main hero, Jed, sometimes turnes out to be more perceptive, balanced and wise than, say, his father. His motives may be simple-hearted, but he's totally sincere, and that's the source for the power he needs. Power not to become desperate when something goes wrong, to face his fears and to find the answer to the main question - what is the purpose of life. And not to be scared.

Jed's father tries to imitate such behavior, but he looks awkward, because he substitutes despair for sincerity. He has been selling TVs all his life and now he realizes he did nothing more but helped others fill their hearts and minds with trash. He has enough courage to admit that, but to change the daily routine he needs more than that. So it's more like a bless to be like Jed who managed to escape this vortex.

It may seem pretty foolish to follow a tramp living on a scrap yard, who said in an interview on the TV that he did know the purpose of life. We the reasonable people understand that was just posturing. But isn't the meaning of life usually revealed by means of such reckless and imprudent actions?

The movie is pretty life-asserting, both the beginning and the end of it are nice, bit at times it gets really oppressive and even a bit scaring - if you empathize with Jed. As he learns about how people can tell lies and be cruel, the real story of Max (the tramp) takes shape and many details change their meaning.

This is accenuated by several repeating scenes, such as the dawn at the dump and Max meditating. They are catchy, but every time they carry a slightly different meaning. I also loved the scene with numerous TVs showing the same programme, i. e. multiplying the ammount of noise and useless information turning our heads into dumps.

The soundtrack seems to be rather typical, but it suits the movie perfectly. It was written by Mugison, and I like how he balances between meditation and emotions in his music. It seems to be lively and still at the same time - maybe like the ground of Iceland itself.

I'm glad I'll soon be able to check it up personally, and I hope I'll get to know Iceland as a niceland)