"Nói albinói" is a bleak and compelling drama that works powerfully both as a character study and as a portrayal of life in a remote section of one of the most isolated countries in the world. The movie tells the story of a bald and enigmatic 17-year old boy named Nói (played by Tómas Lemarquis) who resides with his paternal grandmother, Lína (Anna Friðriksdóttir), in a small town. The two have a cordial relationship even though she seems to have little understanding of him. Nói's father, Kiddi (Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson), is an alcoholic taxi driver. Though violent when drunk, Kiddi loves and is sometimes even affectionate toward his son. And unlike many alcoholics, Kiddi is not delusional. He realizes that he has failed in life and tries to steer his son toward something much better.
But it doesn't seem to be working. Nói is the kind of student that American teachers give a D- just to avoid having him back next school year. He has poor attendance habits, struggling to get out of bed in the morning, and when he does show up, he pays little attention and sometimes even sleeps. In one scene, he arrives late for a test and doesn't even have a pencil. He borrows a pencil from the teacher just long enough to sign the test and turn it in without answering a single question. Still, he appears to be very intelligent, solving a Rubik's cube in a few seconds, easily winning the memory game Mastermind and scoring high on an aptitude test.
Not surprisingly, he has few friends and a dull social life. He only seems to hang out at two places – the gas station, where he rigs the slot machine and uses his winnings to buy malts, and the book store, where he converses and plays Mastermind with the middle aged owner, Óskar (Hjalti Rögnvaldsson). He also spends much time alone in the cellar at his grandmother's house.
Early in the movie, Nói is pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful new girl working at the gas station. He tells Óskar about the girl and learns that she is his daughter, Íris (Elín Hansdóttir), who has just moved in with her father. Though Óskar finds Nói to be good company for guy talk, Óskar knows that Nói does not have high morals – Óskar rewards Nói's Mastermind victories with pornographic magazines - and orders Nói to stay away from Íris.
Nevertheless, Nói pursues Íris and though she initially looks down on him, the two end up forming a romantic relationship. But theirs is far from a typical Hollywood love story. Rather, they act very much like two awkward kids who are experiencing romance for the first time. Their activities together include Nói teaching Íris how to smoke and the two of them breaking into a museum. At the museum, they look at a world map and discuss Iceland's worldwide insignificance and the prospect of exploring other parts of the world. Óskar is initially angry about their relationship but later comes to grudgingly accept it.
Shortly after visiting the museum, Nói receives a View Master as a birthday present from his grandmother. One of the viewing cards features pictures from all over the world, which further increases Nói's interest in leaving his country.
Meanwhile, he sends a tape recorder to school with one of his classmates, David (uncredited), asking David to record the class session as a substitute for Nói's attendance. That act gets Nói expelled. Shortly afterward, he gets a job as a grave digger at a church cemetery and performs so ineptly that he tries the patience of his compassionate Lutheran minister boss (Pétur Einarsson).
In the hope of giving her grandson some direction, Lína schedules Nói an appointment with a fortune teller, Gylfi (Kjartan Bjargmundsson). During the reading, Gylfi becomes mortified and says that he sees nothing but death in Nói's future.
Nói doesn't take the reading seriously and decides to run away with Íris. He attempts to rob a bank, but his threat isn't taken seriously. A bank employee grabs the rifle from Nói, hands it to a customer and shoves Nói out the door. Nói immediately re-enters and withdraws all the money from his account. He then buys an expensive suit, steals a car, goes to the gas station and asks Íris to leave with him. She stares at him blankly and he leaves, looking dejected. Several minutes later, he is arrested.
Kiddi gets Nói out of jail and, on the way back, stops at the gas station and makes a sexual advance at Íris, much to Nói's humiliation, though Kiddi doesn't seem to realize that Íris is his son's girlfriend.
But Nói's dreams continue. And while Gylfi's reading soon comes true, I think the message of the ending is that sometimes clinging to things holds us back and it takes losing those things to liberate us. That's also a message I get from my brother's movie "Trail of Crumbs."
This is one of those rare movies that's almost completely devoid of flaws. All of the performances are excellent, particularly those of Lemarquis, who often acts like life is just one big joke, but several times shows the pain and sensitivity behind that mask, and Gunnarsson, who alternatively provides some of the movie's ugliest and most poignant moments.
The dialogue and interaction between characters is compelling and realistic, the pacing is about as close to perfect as I've ever seen, the scenery is beautiful and the dull quality of the color underscores the bleak Icelandic Winters.
In conclusion, I recommend "Nói albinói" to anyone interested in a good drama or nordic culture. And if you've never seen an independent movie, this is a great one to start off with. If you do, I hope it leads you to delve into that scene as much as I have.
But it doesn't seem to be working. Nói is the kind of student that American teachers give a D- just to avoid having him back next school year. He has poor attendance habits, struggling to get out of bed in the morning, and when he does show up, he pays little attention and sometimes even sleeps. In one scene, he arrives late for a test and doesn't even have a pencil. He borrows a pencil from the teacher just long enough to sign the test and turn it in without answering a single question. Still, he appears to be very intelligent, solving a Rubik's cube in a few seconds, easily winning the memory game Mastermind and scoring high on an aptitude test.
Not surprisingly, he has few friends and a dull social life. He only seems to hang out at two places – the gas station, where he rigs the slot machine and uses his winnings to buy malts, and the book store, where he converses and plays Mastermind with the middle aged owner, Óskar (Hjalti Rögnvaldsson). He also spends much time alone in the cellar at his grandmother's house.
Early in the movie, Nói is pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful new girl working at the gas station. He tells Óskar about the girl and learns that she is his daughter, Íris (Elín Hansdóttir), who has just moved in with her father. Though Óskar finds Nói to be good company for guy talk, Óskar knows that Nói does not have high morals – Óskar rewards Nói's Mastermind victories with pornographic magazines - and orders Nói to stay away from Íris.
Nevertheless, Nói pursues Íris and though she initially looks down on him, the two end up forming a romantic relationship. But theirs is far from a typical Hollywood love story. Rather, they act very much like two awkward kids who are experiencing romance for the first time. Their activities together include Nói teaching Íris how to smoke and the two of them breaking into a museum. At the museum, they look at a world map and discuss Iceland's worldwide insignificance and the prospect of exploring other parts of the world. Óskar is initially angry about their relationship but later comes to grudgingly accept it.
Shortly after visiting the museum, Nói receives a View Master as a birthday present from his grandmother. One of the viewing cards features pictures from all over the world, which further increases Nói's interest in leaving his country.
Meanwhile, he sends a tape recorder to school with one of his classmates, David (uncredited), asking David to record the class session as a substitute for Nói's attendance. That act gets Nói expelled. Shortly afterward, he gets a job as a grave digger at a church cemetery and performs so ineptly that he tries the patience of his compassionate Lutheran minister boss (Pétur Einarsson).
In the hope of giving her grandson some direction, Lína schedules Nói an appointment with a fortune teller, Gylfi (Kjartan Bjargmundsson). During the reading, Gylfi becomes mortified and says that he sees nothing but death in Nói's future.
Nói doesn't take the reading seriously and decides to run away with Íris. He attempts to rob a bank, but his threat isn't taken seriously. A bank employee grabs the rifle from Nói, hands it to a customer and shoves Nói out the door. Nói immediately re-enters and withdraws all the money from his account. He then buys an expensive suit, steals a car, goes to the gas station and asks Íris to leave with him. She stares at him blankly and he leaves, looking dejected. Several minutes later, he is arrested.
Kiddi gets Nói out of jail and, on the way back, stops at the gas station and makes a sexual advance at Íris, much to Nói's humiliation, though Kiddi doesn't seem to realize that Íris is his son's girlfriend.
But Nói's dreams continue. And while Gylfi's reading soon comes true, I think the message of the ending is that sometimes clinging to things holds us back and it takes losing those things to liberate us. That's also a message I get from my brother's movie "Trail of Crumbs."
This is one of those rare movies that's almost completely devoid of flaws. All of the performances are excellent, particularly those of Lemarquis, who often acts like life is just one big joke, but several times shows the pain and sensitivity behind that mask, and Gunnarsson, who alternatively provides some of the movie's ugliest and most poignant moments.
The dialogue and interaction between characters is compelling and realistic, the pacing is about as close to perfect as I've ever seen, the scenery is beautiful and the dull quality of the color underscores the bleak Icelandic Winters.
In conclusion, I recommend "Nói albinói" to anyone interested in a good drama or nordic culture. And if you've never seen an independent movie, this is a great one to start off with. If you do, I hope it leads you to delve into that scene as much as I have.