101 Reykjavic

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> Life is a break from death</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="640" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Hlynur: Hilmir Snaer Gudnason</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="364"><div> Lola: Victoria Abril</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Hofi: Thrudur Vihjalmsdottir</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Berglind (Hlynur's mother) Hanna Maria Karlsdottir</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Director: Baltasar Kormakur</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="364"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="364" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: A man-child, still living with his mother, sees a new world when he learns that Mom is a lesbian. In an alcoholic stupor, he and his mother's lover have sex. This is a menage a trois with a very different twist.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Hlynur is the characterization of the term <I>slacker</I>. He lives at home with his mother, using welfare as his only source of income. He is content to spend the day lounging in a hot tub, which also serves as a sofa when covered up. It sits in the living room/kitchen; think of it as a special type of hide-a-bed. When not in the tub, Hlynur is on his computer or sprawled on the bed masturbating, while looking at women in work out videos.  At night, he goes to the local nightclub where literally everyone parties-hardy. In this isolated town on a remote island, it seems that if you are not married or shacking up with someone, you are a player, and over time, you've either slept with everyone else or they have slept with you. It's somewhat incestuous, even though there are no blood relationships that we know of. In Reykjavik a woman who has slept with almost everyone is not a slut and this does not reflect negatively on the people of Iceland.</div> <bR> <div> Hlynur has a girlfriend of sorts named Hofi, who he has sex with in her apartment from time to time. After his orgasm, he is too high strung to be able to relax and lie next to Hofi. He <I>must</I> get up and go home. </div> <bR> <div> Hlynur and his mother Berglind are comfortable with her seeing him nude getting out of the hot tub. This is somewhat explained when she invites a friend, Lola, over for dinner and we see that their dessert is each other. Hlynur does not really mind, and he does not give much thought to Lola, until he walks into the shower one day and sees not just her body, but her sexy provocative personality. Lola is the type of woman who gets a man's attention, even though you know she is a lesbian and would not be interested in you<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >--</FONT>at least most of the time. And that is where the movie gets really interesting.</div> <bR> <div> While Berglind is away visiting relatives over the Christmas holidays, Lola is staying in the house with Hlynur. No one else has any reason to believe that Lola and Hlynur could be attracted to each other. Lola, however, is a live wire and can go both ways<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >--</FONT>especially if she has been drinking all night. Before you know it, she and Hlynur have sex, first because of alcohol, lust and circumstance, and then later because it was just plain good. </div> <bR> <div> When both Lola <I>and</I> Hofi tell Hlynur they are pregnant, he is in more than just a normal funk of trying to figure out what to do. Hofi says he's the father but Hlynur's not so sure. He thinks that he is the father of Lola's baby, but she casts doubt because she has been to a fertility clinic. Lola and Berglind are trying to have a baby through artificial insemination. The question that comes to mind as Hlynur and his mother look into each other's eyes is quite different. He fears being the father of his brother and she is concerned that her grown son will not accept her and her new family and child.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I><B>101 Reykjavik</B></I> is the postal zip code in the capital of Iceland where Hlynur lives and prefers to stay. He becomes quite upset about having to go to the suburbs once a year for a family dinner. During his annual visit he gives a child a cigarette to smoke and imagines that he would take the shotgun off the wall and shoot the relatives on the sofa. Their idea of fun is to talk about the weather and look at a video of <I>last</I> year's dinner talking about the weather. Hlynur would rather attend a funeral than the family dinner because "…at least there's one less idiot." Even though Hlynur is a jerk off, he is arguably not a jerk. He is just fitting into the culture that is so well captured in this film. My hat is off to the people in Iceland as they seem to have a very strong sense of humor and self esteem.</div> <bR> <div> The soundtrack is exceptional in how it captures the spirit of the people and their activities. This is indeed a place that seems natural for Bjork (<I><B>Dancer in the Dark</B></I>) to come from, swan costume and all.</div> <bR> <div> I've seen quite a few films this year that deal with <I><B>gay themes </B></I>where homosexuality is the central issue rather than a cameo, a joke or the sexual orientation of a straight person's best friend. Although I consider myself an open-minded person, my thoughts on gays, lesbians and bisexuals has been more of "live and let live attitude" rather than truly understanding those relationships. In the last twenty years or so I've been aware of and I am a friend with openly homosexual people. But like someone who has had a very personal experience such as surviving a year in Vietnam or the bombing of Pearl Harbor followed by years of in your face war time service you don't ask them about it. To these we can now add escaping from the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001. For example, one would never ask Senator John McCain to talk about his experiences as a prisoner of war. They tell you what they want and you leave it at that.   </div> <bR> <div> Hlynur comes to terms with the facts of life with the three women in his small world. If he can change, so can the rest of us. Iceland is indeed a strange place when you consider this fact: the film <I><B>101 Reykjavik</B></I><B> </B>made more money in Iceland than <I><B>Gladiator.</B></I> The people of Iceland seem to be in good shape because if you know where you are, you can better figure out how to get to where you want to be, assuming you are not already there. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Not Rated</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>