MSPIFF Revisited- Mamma G贸g贸
Mamma G贸g贸, 2010, A film written and directed by Fri冒rik 脼贸r Fri冒riksson
Fri冒rik 脼贸r Fri冒riksson has directed several notable movies, among them Niceland, Angels of the Universe, Devil's Island, Cold Fever, and Children of Nature. One trait in all of these is the great empathy he has for his characters. This film, loosely biographical, is about an Icelandic film-maker (Hilmir Sn忙r Gu冒nason) whose latest film Children of Nature (as I said, "loosely" biographical) is doing poorly at the box office while at the same time his mother, G贸g贸, (Kristbj枚rg Kjeld) is rapidly developing an advanced case of Alzheimer's disease. This is, despite the plot, not a somber film. It isn't a comedy, but rather a realistic family drama with a vivid backdrop of modern Iceland. As the director's life crumbles, so does the relationship between G贸g贸 and her children. The only person G贸g贸 can communicate with is the ghost of her deceased husband, played by Gunnar Eyj贸lfsson. G贸g贸's fantasies develop, with memories of the early days of her courtship- played out in vintage black and white footage. The film's ending has an almost unbearable poignancy; be sure to bring some tissues, Fri冒rik 脼贸r Fri冒riksson deserves a film festival of his own (or perhaps a box DVD set with Rokk 铆 Reykjav铆k as an extra!)
The "film within the film":
79 af st枚冒inni, 1962, A film directed by Erik Balling
Starring: Kristbj枚rg Kjeld and Gunnar Eyj贸lfsson
NOTE: for MSP area readers: It will be screened again Friday, April 29, at 3:30 pm
4 Comments:-
Mary said...
-
-
Professor Batty said...
-
-
Darien Fisher-Duke said...
-
-
Professor Batty said...
-
I saw this on the flight to Iceland last October. I thought it was a good film, but IMHO it wasn't nearly as good in terms of production values, acting, script, etc. as "Cold Fever". Of course, watching a film on an airplane is not ideal.
Cold Fever is really in a class of one, I think. Kristbj枚rg has the stand out performance in Mamma G贸g贸- her children are not sympathetic characters, to say the least. The nuances of her portrayal as she deteriorates may have been lost on the small screen.
Once again I find myself jealous of Icelandic cultural opportunities in Minneapolis.
Rose ~ Fri冒rik 脼贸r Fri冒riksson is some kind of genius "humanist" director. I don't have cable TV but if there was a Scandinavian film channel, I might be tempted. I would think that this would show up in NetFlix pretty soon. Maybe when the Apple TV "network" comes out in the fall they'll have access to these films.
Post a Comment