Noi Albinoi

Reviewed by Shelley Cameron

for Reel Movie Critic

HHH ½

Cast

Tómas Lemarquis

Elin Hansdorrir

Directed by Dagur Kari. Coming of age drama. Not Rated.

95 minutes. In Icelandic with English subtitles.

This thoroughly absorbing film from Iceland is a picture of modern life for 17-year-old Noi, a bright but bored teenager who is fed up with life in the slow lane of his remote village, at the foot of an imposing mountain of ice and snow. His burnt out father drives a taxi when he's not too drunk and lives alone in a grimy shack, nursing unfulfilled dreams and licking his wounds over a squandered life. Noi lives with his caring but elderly grandmother who does what she can to keep Noi on the right track. This includes the novel but effective use of her shotgun as an alarm clock when he ignores her calls to get out of bed for school. This is one of the deadpan expressions of humor employed in this fresh approach to the standard tale of teen angst, and elevates it well above the usual.

The vast expanses and frigid temperatures of the Icelandic outdoors dominate the landscape and the lives of its inhabitants. Noi rigs the slot machine daily to get a little cash. He dreams of going to far away places but succeeds at frustrating his teachers until the capable but defeated school principal is out of options. With his pale and handsome features, Noi at first seems belligerent but the sensitive performance by Tómas Lemarquis uncovers and captures the right blend of childlike woundedness and testosterone driven craziness.

He spends much of his time in the underground dugout retreat beneath his grandmother's house. When he meets Iris, Noi finds a reason to get out of bed. She is the daughter of his cynical and intellectual friend, who has brought her to the village to get her away from the bad influences of the big city. Right up to its devastating conclusion, the authenticity and humanity of its characters ring true. The ominous, icy beauty of the environment swells to encompass Noi's past and present, and engulfs his future as well. Tinged with a touch of the supernatural, which reinforces the random nature of events that deeply effect our lives and reminds us that personal choices ruffle the fortunes of fate. Though sometimes they may not be unknowable, are nevertheless unalterable.