Niceland (Population. 1.000.002) (2004)

Director:

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson

Writer:

Huldar Breiðfjörð (writer)

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (Iceland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Martin Compston	...	Jed
Gary Lewis	...	Max
Peter Capaldi	...	John
Kerry Fox	...	Mary
Shauna Macdonald	...	Sandra
Guðrún María Bjarnadóttir	...	Chloe (as Gudrun Maria Bjarnadottir)
Guðrún Gísladóttir	...	Ruth (as Gudrun Gisladottir)
Timmy Lang	...	Alex
Ásta S. Ólafsdóttir	...	Mia
Hugrún Þorfinnsdóttir	...	Diana
Gísli Örn Garðarsson	...	Ethan
Páll Sigþór Pálsson	...	Newsreader
Þorsteinn J. Vilhjálmsson	...	News Reporter
Andri Freyr Hilmarsson	...	Factory Worker
Halldór Halldórsson	...	Factory Worker (as Halldór Steinn Halldórsson)

Also Known As:

Næsland (Iceland) (promotional title)

Runtime:

86 min | Germany:87 min | Czech Republic:87 min

Country:

Denmark | Iceland | Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Zik Zak Kvikmyndir

Movie Connections:

Features Nói albínói (2003)

Without a doubt one of Friðriks best work...

I saw this film by a total accident and I'm happy to have seen it. The film isn't perfect but its very good and has a nice kind of morale. Niceland is basically about a young man (or an old boy) Jet living a joyful life working at a factory with his girlfriend who he's deeply in love with and vice versa. But shortly after they decide to get married and live together happily ever after her cat, who she has a weird affection for, dies. The girlfriend falls into depression which could (strangely enough) lead to her death and the only way to give her a purpose to live and save her is to tell her the meaning of life. So Jet goes on a journey to discover the meaning of life and thats when he meets Max, a strange man living in a junkyard who claims to know the answer...

Niceland is a pretty surreal film and I wouldn't necessarily call it Icelandic or even British but instead if anything I would probably call it "Nicelandic" especially because I have no idea where its supposed to happen and it felt like a new kind of style. To begin with the film was very fun and entertaining but after a while it got kinda slow but before the film reached its climax it went up hill again and I noticed it had a good point and was trying to say something (although I don't want to reveal what). Gary Lewis and Martin Compston are both very good as are the other actors. Out of ten I would give it a rating somewhere between 7.3 to 7.7 although I can't really imagine what kind of feedback it will get.