Greetings gentle readers and welcome to the Sunday Morning Movie. Today, it’s a twisted rom-com from Iceland: 101 REYKJAVÍK.
101 Reykjavík (2000)
and next week’s film Lilya 4-Ever (warning, disturbing content):
https://youtu.be/zbkBesAWFXM?si=OSjXF2FBT00DVLjm
Reviews of 101 REYKJAVÍK:
Letterboxd says:
Icelandic version of The Graduate situation but for lesbians and the victim of the love triangle is the widowed mother’s incel son — “defensive by nature, but harmless.” Interspliced with the occasional beauty of an Icelandic landscape among the pervasive claustrophobia of sweat and beer-induced freak-fest house parties, overall (sic) a good watch. Took me a month to finish but well worth sticking around till the credits.
and
Couldn’t really see this made outside of the Nordic counties – awkward family comedy drama, with some amusing musings and a pretty sweet ending.
Christmas elements: the first half is set during the build up to Christmas and NYE, family gatherings…
Less Christmassy elements: explicit sex, accidental intra familial relaitons, fantasies about Christmas day family murders.
FilmiTips says:
Enough hilarity and sadness at the same time in ‘101 Reykjavík’, and there is really no better setting than cold Iceland to tell such a story credibly. That credibility is good, not only despite the bizarre story of a lesbian Spanish in Iceland and not only thanks to the beautiful decor, but also thanks to the way Gudnason acts, and the way everything is portrayed . The cold is almost palpable, but at the same time everything is so ‘wrapped up’ that the whole story seems like a kind of dream or fairy tale. And because it’s like a dream, it’s believable. After all, in some dreams everything goes wrong, and at the same time you continue to watch with resignation.
Although all kinds of personal disasters play out in Hlynur’s life, ‘101 Reykjavík’ remains a light-hearted film. To remind us of this, the song ‘Lola’ accompanies the scenes in almost childlike performances. On the one hand, that works well, because the film remains light-hearted, but at the same time the lightness also kills this film a bit. ‘101 Reykjavík’ will be nothing more than a cleverly made comedy with a bizarre story. Precisely because Hlynur is portrayed well, you also want to be able to empathize with his person and his environment, but the environment remains too far away to be able to do that. As a viewer, you don’t really empathize when Hlynur learns that Lola is pregnant, that his mother is a lesbian. You don’t feel the despair when Hlynur first hears that he is the father of Hofi’s child, and when he later learns that he is not the father after all, and that Hofi cheated on him with his best friend.
My take: I’m not given to rom-coms as a rule but I was intrigued by the strange storyline and the setting of this film. The views of the bleak Icelandic terrain appealed to me, it’s a good backdrop against which to portray a love triangle between a woman, another woman, and the son of one of the women. It’s an amusing story, you cannot help but wonder how the hell it’s all going to end up, but it’s worth one viewing only:⭐.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Hallgrímur Helgason, Baltasar Kormákur
Notable actors: Victoria Abril
Plot (Spoilers!):
Hlynur has problems. He is a thirty-something slacker who lives with his mother. He smokes and drinks too much. His girlfriend is pregnant.
Then Lola comes into his life. She is a house guest of his mother and is sexy and vivacious. After a drunken night, he sleeps with her.
But it turns out there is more to Lola and his mother than he suspects. They are lovers. And Lola is now carrying his child as well.
It’s a highly unconventional love triangle for sure. But things work out. His girlfriend isn’t pregnant with his child after all. His mother and Lola are determined to raise his child, with his help. After some soul-searching and a half-hearted suicide attempt, he is determined to change his ways. The movie ends with him spending time with his family and working the first job in his life. All is well.
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