Á annan veg
Réalisation:
Hafsteinn Gunnar SigurðssonScénario:
Hafsteinn Gunnar SigurðssonPhotographie:
Árni FilippussonActeurs·trices:
Hilmar Guðjónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Valgerður RúnarsdóttirRésumés(1)
Two highway maintenance men in the barren wilderness of 1980s Iceland find themselves at a figurative crossroads in the small but beguiling character-driven dramedy Either Way. Wisely employing the harshly beautiful landscape as the third principal character, tyro helmer Sigurðsson highlights human vulnerability and the struggle to create something meaningful and lasting. Representing two different types of manhood, Finnbogi (co-writer Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) and callow, hot-to-trot Alfred (Hilmar Guðjónsson) gall each other as they perform their hard labor far from other human contact. Ultimately, their barely civil tolerance evolves into real friendship as they support each other through romantic travails. The gorgeous visuals favor long takes, wide frames and moving shots that allow the thesping to carry the story. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(plus)Critiques (1)
Recently, I saw Prince Avalanche on Cinemax and found out that it’s a remake of an Icelandic movie. And since I’m obsessed with Iceland, I immediately bought this movie and watched it right away. The length was completely sufficient, especially since it doesn’t exactly have a meaningful story that would grab your attention at the first glance. What’s important is that it has two ordinary characters who live their ordinary lives just like we do. But every Monday, they meet up in the middle of the Icelandic wilderness, knowing that all week, they won’t see anything but unmarked roads that need to be marked and unsigned roads that need to be signed. I really loved the idea, just like the incredibly gorgeous gloomy fall landscapes that the director seems to be outright indulging in. But I also loved the ordinariness of the movie. Because despite the simplicity, it managed to lure me in with its originality and that’s exactly what won me over right at the start. I’m giving this movie five stars (unlike the American remake), especially because it’s the original and because the Icelandic wilderness really speaks to me.
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