Fridrik Thór Fridriksson Movies

Filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson wrote and directed this witty portrait of a mother and son each struggling with an uncertain future. A filmmaker (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) has competed his first feature film, Children Of Nature, a study of an elderly woman who is neglected by her family with the exception of her caring son. The irony is, the filmmaker's own mother (Kristbjörg Kjeld) is slipping into the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, and while she needs her son's help, he's too busy trying to get someone to actually see his movie to spend much time with her. After Children Of Nature tanks at the box office, the filmmaker is on the verge of financial ruin and is desperately lobbying for the film to become the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film prize at the American Academy Awards, in hopes it might spark some overseas interest in the project. Meanwhile, as his mother's mind begins to fail her, she imagines the ghost of her late husband (Gunnar Eyjolfsson) has been visiting her while she sets her stove on fire, floods her house and raises the ire of her neighbors. Mamma Gogo was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An Icelandic crime thriller with the gloss stripped away, director Oskar Jonasson's Reykjavik-Rotterdam hones in on a down-and-outer at the very end of his rope. For Kristofer (Baltasar Kormakur) life has been little more than a never ending series of failures and disappointments. Among other things, he made the colossal mistake of smuggling alcohol during his tenure as a shipworker - a little stunt that promptly landed him behind bars. Now, following release, he struggles to pull his life together while working as a security guard and continually attempts to support his family. Then the opportunity arises for Kristofer to do one final tour on a freighter running from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Rotterdam, Holland. Kristofer initially embraces the opportunity to work with his old friends once again - little foreseeing the malestorm of crime into which this move will plunge him. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Lars von Trier's black comedy The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) concerns an IT company owner who -- in need of a figurehead to "hide behind" when confronted with employee problems -- invented the personage of a CEO during the startup period for his corporation. The scheme worked for a surprisingly long period, but when the time arrives to sell the business, massive problems arise -- for the prospective buyers insist on only negotiating with the CEO, in person. Thus, the owner further extends the ruse, by hiring a down-and-out actor to impersonate the chief officer. With Direktøren for Det Hele, von Trier uses a new means of filmmaking for this film: Automavision, whereby filming is done with an "automatic randomized camera" that selects the shots. It became a means for Von Trier to "clean up" his approach to directorial work and reconnect with his own love of filmmaking. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

One of the oldest epic poems in the English language gets a robust visual interpretation in this historical epic shot on location in Iceland. Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård) is a Danish king who murders a troll that has been terrorizing his countryside. But Hrothgar spares the life of the troll's strange young son, who with the passage of years grows to become Grendel (Ingvar Sigurdsson), a fearsome warrior intent upon avenging his father's death. As Grendel begins his slaughter of the king's closest confidants, Hrothgar realizes his life is in danger, and he calls upon the brave and fearless Beowulf (Gerard Butler) to track down and kill Grendel. As Beowulf and his band of warriors search for the vicious and elusive Grendel, he crosses paths with Selma (Sarah Polley), a beautiful and sensuous witch whose alliances are divided between Beowulf and his archenemy. Produced by Canadian, British, and Icelandic concerns, Beowulf & Grendel was a major box-office success in Canada before crossing south to American theaters in the summer of 2006. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's Falkar (Falcons) is a drama set in Reykjavik, Iceland. Simon (Keith Carradine) is an American who returns to Iceland after 30 years (and a stretch in prison) away. He becomes involved with an artist named Dua (Margret Vilhjalmsdottir) who is illegally keeping a falcon. After she is raped by a police officer (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson), Dua and Simon go on the run. Falcons was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Directed by Maria Sigudardottir, Regina is a feature-length children's musical from Iceland. A little girl named Regina (Sigurbjorg Alma Ingolfsdottir) is stuck at home while all her friends are away at summer camp. She spends her time singing and trying to find a boyfriend for her mom. One day, she figures out that her songs (written by Margret Ornolfsdottir and Sjon) change things around her in a magical way. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur stars as the villan Ivar. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Beauty meets the Beast, and neither is sure just what to make of the other, in a modern-dress comic variation on the ancient folk tale, written and directed by the eternally offbeat Hal Hartley. Beatrice (Sarah Polley) works with the office staff of a sleazy tabloid TV news show, run by a harridan producer (Helen Mirren) eager for something other than the usual spate of violent crimes and natural disasters that are her show's bread and butter. The producer sends her camera crew to Iceland in search of something new and unusual, and they certainly find it when they run across a village that has its own monster (Robert John Burke), a large part-mammal and part-lizard with a short temper and habit of killing people who get on his nerves. The show's camera crew (including Beatrice's boyfriend) doesn't survive their first encounter with the monster, and Beatrice is sent to find out what happened to them. En route to Iceland, Beatrice's plane crashes into the waters off the coast, and while she survives the accident, a group of unsympathetic locals decide (after a few drinks too many) to take her to the monster's lair, where a grim fate doubtless awaits her. Except that the monster is a bit depressed and Beatrice isn't in the mood to take any guff from anyone; after the monster wonders aloud why folks aren't as frightened of him as they once were, he asks Beatrice to help him find Dr. Artaud (Baltasar Kormakur), a mad scientist who might be able to cure him of the curse of eternal life. No Such Thing received its world premiere at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Noted Icelandic filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson directs this darkly humorous tale about a man's descent into mental disease and self-destruction. Screenwriter Einar Mar Gudmundsson adapted the script from his book about the true story of his brother. Paul (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson) lives with his parents, dreams about being a painter, and struggles to court a young lass who is above his class status. Complaining of a pain "in the heart," he starts to exhibit bizarre, occasionally violent behavior -- until eventually his parents are forced to commit him. In the sanitarium, he encounters a number of colorful characters -- Vicktor (Bjorn Jorundur Fridbjornsson) thinks that he's Hitler, Peter (Hilmer Snaer Gudnason) took way too many drugs, and Oli Beatle (Baltasar Kormakur) believes that he wrote all of the Fab Four's sundry hits. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Hrafn Gunnlaugsson directs this bleak historical drama about repressed sexuality, Satan, and ghoulish modes of torture. Set during the 17th century, the film opens with a wizened old man stumbling upon the doorstep of a remote Icelandic monastery. The old man, on his death bed, recounts his life story to one of the priests. The action flashes back to 1643, where Jon Magnusson (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) has just graduated from the seminary and is told that he can take over a small isolated parish if he marries the former vicar's wife Thorkatla (Gudrun Kristin Magnusdottir), who turns out to be 30 years older than him. Though they eventually marry, he refuses to sleep with her, arguing that they must not yield to the pleasures of the flesh. In truth, Jon does not want to succumb to the flesh of a dowdy middle-aged woman, instead he hungers for the pert young body of the comely Thuridur (Sara Gogg Asgeirsdottir). In a desperate attempt to drive away the miasma of frustrated thoughts wracking his brain, he stages a one-man campaign against Satan worshippers. Accusing Thuridur's father (Jon Sigurbjornsson) and brother (Jon Tryggvasson) of witchcraft, he has them sentenced to death. Later, Jon gives Thuridur an offer she cannot refuse -- have sex with him or watch her menfolk go up in flames. Of course, she does refuse. Not long afterward, her relatives are rendered into ash and congealed fat and Thuridur herself is accused of the crime. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

When a couple breaks up, their children are torn between two cultures in the drama The Split. Sol Jensen (Bennu Gerede), a woman from Iceland raised as a Catholic, meets Halil Atesh (Mahir Gunsiray), a Turkish man and a student of Islam. They fall in love and eventually have two daughters together, but when they split up, Sol takes custody of the girls. Sol's new lover, Fridrick (Baltasar Kormakur), isn't used to children, and suggests the kids could stay with Halil for a while the couple sorts things out. Sol agrees, and Halil takes the children with him on a visit to Turkey. Halil does not return, and Sol discovers Halil has fallen in with Islamic fundamentalists in his family, who insist he keep the children away from his ex. An attempt by Sol and Fridrick to kidnap the girls is a disaster, and the Turkish government prevents them from visiting the country or seeing the girls for three years. By the time Sol is able to return, she discovers her daughters now speak Turkish and wear traditional Islamic head dresses -- depending on your viewpoint, they've either been brainwashed against their mother's will, or they've been educated in the faith of their father. The Split was directed by Turkish filmmaker Canan Gerede, and was produced in collaboration by Turkish and Icelandic firms. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The unusual title of this Icelandic-Danish road movie is the telephone number of pretty 19-year-old Stella (Thora Dungal) who joins alcoholic Robbi (Pall Banine) and Ulfur (Finnur Johannsson) on a Reykjavik apartment break-in. The following day, Ulfur sends the two off on a drug deal, but they decide to flee Ulfur's manipulations by driving across Iceland. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Stephen Bradley made his directorial debut with this Irish drama in which circus performer Sweety Barrett (Brendan Gleeson) loses his job swallowing objects and is hired by bootlegger Flick Hennessy (Tony Rohr) to do odd jobs in the port town of Dockery where the slow-witted Sweety meets Anne King (Lynda Steadman) and her six-year-old son Conor (Dylan Murphy). Anne's husband Leo (Andy Serkis) has been framed by deranged police chief Mannix Bone (Liam Cunningham), who often beats up various townsfolk whenever the psychopathic inspiration hits him. Bone has also forced Flick to cut him in on the whisky-running profits. Released from jail, Leo plots revenge, and violence erupts. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi