Like the space beneath the lines you're supposed to read between: there's nothing here but subcontext.
This is the 2h20 story of a Danish priest who travels to Iceland in the late 1800s to start a church for the expat farmers there.
I'd call it a slow burn but it'd have to have some burn for that.
Hlynur Pálmason's follow up to the excellent 'A White, white day' is Part Bergman, part Dreyer, part Scorsese's Silence, part Icelandic landscape documentary, part The Piano, with the eerie tone of the lighthouse and the visuals of a Mark Jenkin film.
It follows a Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove) who is sent to Iceland to set up a church. The journey is extremely tough, and with the help of his guide (the excellent Ingvar Sigurdsson) they try and traverse the harsh Icelandic terrain. The film is presented on a vignette style almost 4:3 aspect ratio which gives it an otherworldly feel, especially when coupled with the beautiful sparse Icelandic vistas. The subplot is that the priest is a keen photographer eager to capture his experiences and those of the people he meets – which is director Pálmason’s idea for the inspiration behind the film. He creates a false narrative that photographs were found that were purportedly taken by the Priest.
The journey descends into chaos, details of which are best left unspoilt in a review, but it’s safe to say the film is one of the best of the year so far.
8.7/10
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-10-12T11:44:05Z— updated 2023-10-13T16:22:57Z
Feels like a combination of Silence and There Will Be Blood. It's one of those movies that's really good at immersion; the cinematography, sound effects and score are all so accomplished that you're immediately transported into its world. For as pretentious as this may sound: you will feel the Icelandic cold of this movie. There are so many vistas that have already burned themselves onto my memory. However, it's probably a good thing that the film managed to hold my attention through just the technical aspects, because the writing can be lackluster. Sometimes it's slow to a fault, for example the first hour really should've been cut down to the more essential bits as there's way too much indulgence here. It feels like it only gets going in the second half, because that's when the conflict and themes get introduced. You need some of the set-up from the first hour, but it feels too drawn out. The arc of the main character is also utterly predictable, effectively hitting the emotions it's trying to sell, but not in a particularly surprising way. Still, I liked what it was doing overall and it's the kind of film that deserves respect. It's undeniably a piece of quality filmmaking with subtlety, substance, style and good performances, but definitely not for everyone.
6.5/10