Stormland (2011)

The tragicomic story of lone rebel Boddi Steingrimsson who lives in a small town in Northern Iceland. Boddi hates materialistic modern society in its entirety and on his blog-page he ... See full summary »

Director:

Marteinn Thorsson

Writers:

Hallgrímur Helgason (novel), Marteinn Thorsson

Stars:

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir, Þorsteinn Bachmann

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson	...	Böddi - Böðvar Steingrímsson
Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir	...	Lára María
Þorsteinn Bachmann	...	Toni Group
Víkingur Kristjánsson	...	Einar Alberts
Hilmir Snær Guðnason	...	Árni Valur
Stefán Jónsson	...	Doctor
Jóhann Sigurðarson	...	Albert
Steinn Ármann Magnússon	...	Manni Volgu
Stefán Hallur Stefánsson	...	Viddi
Þórhallur Sigurðsson	...	Keli
Magnús Ragnarsson	...	Þóroddur
Edda Björg Eyjólfsdóttir	...	Nurse in Reception
Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir	...	Dagga
Lilja Guðrún Þorvaldsdóttir	...	Aðalbjörg - Dagga's Mother
Mani Magnusson	...	Aron Freyr (voice) (as Jafet Máni Magnúsarson)

Storyline

The tragicomic story of lone rebel Boddi Steingrimsson who lives in a small town in Northern Iceland. Boddi hates materialistic modern society in its entirety and on his blog-page he comically criticizes everything and everyone. Before long he has become an outlaw in his own hometown, just like his viking hero, Grettir. After a series of dramatic mishaps, he snaps and goes riding down south to the big city on his sturdy steed Nietzsche. He's got a gun in his pocket. He's ready for the revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to friedrich nietzsche | outlaw | anti materialism | rebel | revolutionary | 

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Taglines:

The higher you fly, the smaller you appear to the flightless.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

There are two cuts of the film: The Original Icelandic release and a shorter, more direct "International Version".

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Quotes

Böddi - Böðvar Steingrímsson: Sex is Hitler; it always starts with an invasion and ends up in a dark bunker.

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Alternate Versions

International Version is 10 minutes shorter and omits the animation sequences, Grettir the Viking, the God's Point of View shots of Iceland and the Making-Out-With-Lara Maria scene.

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Soundtracks

Wanderers Nachtlied
Written by Franz Schubert (incorrectly attributed to Franz Schumann)
Sung by Ólöf Arnalds
Piano by Davíð Þór Jónsson
Produced by Sigtryggur Baldursson

User Reviews

Decent Icelandic film, starts of well but loses its lustre halfway through

Rokland tells the story of Bodvar, a high-school teacher, poet and Icelandic man of spirit stuck in a small, dead-end town, surrounded by the crass moral, spiritual and intellectual decadence of a society dominated by materialism, greed and Americanization. Tragedy and comedy ensue as Bodvar is fired from his job for trying to introduce his students to their saga heritage, struggles with the incomprehension of the locals and his family, impregnates a local past- her-prime woman and is scorned by the young, beautiful girl he is in love with.

The problem with the film is that it tries too hard to be many things at once: comedy, satire, social critique and tragedy. The film starts off well and has many funny scenes and moments, and we, the audience, learn to appreciate and love the quirkiness, soulfulness and moral integrity of Bodvar. Half-way through, alas, the film takes a sharp U-turn and becomes a serious, emotional, surreal drama laced with social critique, angst and violence. It doesn't quite manage to pull it any of it off, and the whole thing comes across as heavy-handed and overly dramatic. It would have been better to stick with dark comedy.

Overall, worth watching if you're into Icelandic films; it's a decent addition to the Icelandic film flora, and definitely above-par for the country's film-making in the past decade, if only thanks to Olafur Darri's compelling portrayal of Bodvar and the sharp, funny caricatures of some well-known personality types in Icelandic society.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Iceland]

Country:

Iceland

Language:

Icelandic

Release Date:

14 January 2011 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Stormland

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,709

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pegasus Pictures, Tenderlee Motion Pictures Company

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1