Forget sparkling arctic waters and awe-inspiring lavascapes -- here we explore the terrain of addictive despair in the Land of Fire and Ice.
Magnea (Elín Hall) would seem to have it all -- physical beauty, loving parents, and a comfortable home in one of the most dazzling places on earth.
Still, the Reykjavík 15-year-old falls prey to every manner of drug, drops out of school, and tempts death on a daily basis. In flash-forwards, we get to know her as a haggard and abused junkie (Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir) who has never outraced her demons.
Along the way, we observe that Magnea destroys the lives of her parents along with her own. They can never rest, not knowing where she is for days on end, or with whom. And the people in Magnea's world -- you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark fjord. Þorsteinn Bachmann does particularly well as her patient and caring dad. He wants to help, but doesn't know how. Icelandic cinema often spotlights the psychological gulf between parents and their offspring, and this film perfectly captures that dynamic.
My love of Iceland and its language led me to "Lof mér að falla," and it offers opportunities to glean snippets of the mother tongue. As previous reviewers have noted, this is quite hard to watch in parts. And what's with the side jaunt to Rio? Makes no sense at all.
The movie leaves me wondering how to say "depressing" in Icelandic. Yep, Niðurdrepandi!
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