samoil99
I saw this movie on a flight to Iceland. What a treat. This movie is one of a kind. So different than the Hollywood formula movies that you see over and over again hoping that you'll see something different for a change. It sure puts to shame "One flew over the cuckoo's nest". Which had a similar subject. Unlike "cuckoo's nest" this movie didn't wasn't overdone. It was subtle and gentle even though it was dealing with a heavy subject. its message about sanity , the human condition and the times we're living in, will stay with me forever. The characters were perfectly developed. The conversations were sharp, wise, leaving you breathless. The acting was perfect. It was well directed and shot. I just loved it.
starsnostars
First at all: If you like watching movies I recommend you NOT to watch this one. Why? Afterwards you won't appreciate any other movie so easily anymore...Actually I don't wanna give rise to any excessive expectations but it is almost frightening how perfect, intense and beautiful this work of Einar Gudmundsson is. When in most movies there is at least one aspect spoiling the whole thing, like good actors but horrible dialogs or a nice scenery but low budget cinematography in Angels of the Universe" there is nothing of this ambivalence. Really everything is just great, even (and not least) the soundtrack with the magnificent Sigur Rós.In this story about Pall, a student that goes schizophrenic after being dumped by his girlfriend, especially the dialogs (and monologues) deserve some attention: together with (and sometimes in sharp contrast to) the plot they range from depressing and fatalistic to the whole opposite of comical and totally absurd. What is more, they are often (with quotes from Hegel and Shakespeare) of such a poetic beauty that the movie almost drifts into a surreal sphere and is only saved to the real world by its incredibly authentic actors.One of the other comments was already referring to another point: This movie is no trivial entertainment for relaxing in the evening. Despite of several comical reliefs in between it is largely disturbing, partly cynical and bitter, and most of all sad. It is a modern poetry about a life of insanity with all its emptiness, rage and solitude.Finally: When you've seen the movie watch it again. There are some great visual metaphors and allusions in it that you realize only when you look twice and connect them with the moral of the story". And of course: read the book, it contains a lot more of the small funny stories in between and also makes you understand some things in the movie a bit better.
The Big Combo
What is this fixation of Scandinavians with mental houses? Is it because they do not have the same problems as the rest of mortals have? This movie is so pretentious that one watches it all the way through just to figure out how far can it dare to go. A man walking in the water is not enough; showing God either. One must see him coming as a ghost and then transformed into a white pidgeon. It's naive in every sense. The icelandics should feel owerpowered by their astonishing landscapes, and they cannot help showing it off. Some scenes made me really blush: the horses galloping in slow motion, a couple of aerial takes out of focus, the declamatory dialogue. It's a pastiche of music, painting, postacard sundowns, unjustified dissolves and cheap poetry. These fellows should really go back to basic storytelling. The icelandic film industry, as the norwegian one, uncovers an amazing lack of ideas, and that's a real shame, regarding the amounts of money they waste in doing so-called "festival films". Funny that the video version of this crap was advertised as "seen by more icelandics than Titanic". Maybe the root of the problem lays there.
martin_benda
This film very succeed in the Film festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech rep. Logically. It' s based on a very good book, excellent actors, good camera, the best director and ICELANDIC. It was probably the most black comedy I've seen.I really DO recommend it to you.
AD
