Icelandic Cinema
 

I have only watched three icelandic films, and I liked all of them and made a trailer for each one.

https://vimeo.com/205121447

Tilbury (1987)

"In the year 1940 when there were British forces in Iceland, a country boy goes to Reyjavik to work for the army. He also wants to know what became of his childhood sweetheart. He soon discovers that she's having an affair with a British soldier. Moreover, he starts to suspect that the soldier, instead of being an officer and a gentleman, is in fact a very peculiar kind of monster."

https://vimeo.com/205007890

Draugusaga (1985)

"A young student starts working as a night watchman in the Icelandic TV-house which is supposed to be haunted. Together with a make-up girl working there, he pretends to be a red-haired ghost. But what started out as a joke, soon becomes no laughing matter."

https://vimeo.com/205008003

The next one is a viking "A Fistful of Dollars", also a remake of Akira Korusawa's "Yojimbo", but this time with vikings and not american cowboys. While making my trailer I searched for an Icelandic historical song...;)

"When the Raven Flies (original Icelandic: Hrafninn flýgur (About this soundpronunciation (help·info))) is a 1984 Icelandic-Swedish adventure film written and directed by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. The story is set in Viking Age Iceland. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 57th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[1] In 2016, online newspaper Kjarninn voted it as the best Icelandic film of all time[2].

Although mainly a tale of personal revenge, When the Raven Flies bears a clear resemblance to the classic Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo, sharing common plot events, characters and action sequences.[3] Gunnlaugsson also drew inspiration from the Sagas of Icelanders and aimed to deconstruct the Viking stereotypes, replacing them with more authentic portrayals of the Viking era.[4] It has a 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes[5].

When the Raven Flies is the first film of the Raven Trilogy (also known as the Viking Trilogy) that consists of three Viking films: When the Raven Flies (1984, usually known as simply The Raven or Revenge of the Barbarians), In the Shadow of the Raven (1987, original Icelandic title: Í skugga hrafnsins) and Embla (1991, original Icelandic title: Hvíti víkingurinn), which is a director's cut of The White Viking." (Wikipedia - EN)

https://vimeo.com/198296595

I enjoyed all three films, the first two are horror/mystery TV movies, produced by the Icelandic state TV, that are very original, mature, well-made and 100% fresh. The third one is the viking version of "A Fistful of Dollars" (another remake of the japanese film Yojimbo), did you notice the scene similar to Clint Eastwood setting his poncho aside, and revealing the iron plate with bullet marks? In this case with bow and arrows?;)

Does No Such Thing count?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JWWxksVQJo

Re: Icelandic Cinema
 

Tilbury and and When the Raven Flies sound interesting, though Draugusaga looked kinda boring.

The best Icelandic film I've seen is by far Noi Albanoi (2003).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERc1K8Clfpw

A favorite of mine I saw recently is from Iceland. Cold Fever. It has northern European dry wit and eccentricity that I love (reminds me a bit of Aki Kaurismaki). It also gives Iceland a special mystique. Also from Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, I was pretty lukewarm about Angels of the Universe (a movie about a man's mental health descent), and one of my more sought after movies at the moment is Devil's Island (1996).

All the movies mentioned in this thread look good. I'll be on the lookout.

I made this topic for the purpose of discussing icelandic cinema, "I threw in the bag" everything I had, and now it's up to the other members, to discuss this subject.:)

You can keep discussing the subject too though. :D Have you seen Noi Albinoi? You should watch it and let me know what you think.

Re: Icelandic Cinema
 

There are plenty of good Icelandic movies… but here's a list of my favorites..

Djúpið
Englar Alheimsins
Hafið
Mýrin
Astrópía
Stella í Orlofi

Re: Icelandic Cinema
 

When did Icelandic cinema "start"?
I always like starting with the first talkies and moving up from there, especially when I find a director I like.

Re: Icelandic Cinema
 

I have seen 5-6 maybe. Last being Woman At War. They make good films, or maybe just I watch what becomes popular outside their borders. So can't make a sweeping judgement on their movie industry.

Re: Icelandic Cinema
 

Hrútar is a fun watch imo.