Iceland Is Best

This film exquisitely spotlights the Icelandic countryside and for that in itself is worth seeing. It is also an inspiring story about pursuing a dream even if it is hard, and scary, and you leave everything behind that is familiar. Kristin Audur Sophusdottir is lovely as Sigga, a 17-year-old who doesn't need her parents' approval to embrace her view of the future. She has a bevy of friends who will miss her, but they understand that now is the time to act. Along the way, Sigga meets American traveler Nikki (Tom Maden), who is as infatuated with her beauty as he is with her homeland, and he can't understand why she'd leave. With California in the shape it's in now, I'd have to agree. But I am biased. I am a lover of Iceland and its language, and I can't wait to go back myself. (Current inflation makes the prospect somewhat daunting.) What troubles me about this film is that the largely Icelandic cast speaks English, rather than Icelandic with English subtitles. The archaic and fascinating language of Iceland is at risk in the country of just 320,000, as younger people demonstrate an amazing grasp of English and English is the language of technology. This movie awakens a fear in me that more films from Iceland will be produced in this way, making them more effortlessly accessible to an international audience. Aside from that, though, I recommend this film, beautifully scored not with music, but with song. Wishing you well, young Sigga...

Reading about how this movie was made - 35mm film, low-budget, etc. - it seems as if the technical and commercial challenges overshadowed the matter of creating a compelling story. The central character, Sigga, is a young poet in search of a new life in California. Her attempts to escape from the limited, if beautiful, confines of Iceland encounter opposition from her parents and support from her friends. There is much soul-searching, wandering - somewhat aimlessly - from place , and wistful music. But the film lacks any substantial drive or momentum so that the experience is of watching someone drifting. And how it all ends is unclear. There are some quirky - or irritating - features here too, such as the guy who follows Sigga everywhere carrying a canoe for no obvious reason (if there is a non-obvious reason it is never explained), and the repeated chiming of a few slightly discordant notes. Even the Icelandic landscape is not really used to great effect. I was expecting some long, lingering wide shots that would underpin the action, but the trajectory of the story is too diffuse to enable this to work. There seems to be a likeable and memorable movie hidden somewhere in Iceland is Best, but unfortunately it did not manage to emerge this time. (Viewed at the Reghed Centre Cinema, Cumbria, UK 21 October 2021)

This is a sweet movie. The backdrop is the beautiful landscape of Iceland along with the bond between Sigga and her three friends. She has chosen to go to California and her friends take her to the airport to be her protectors, one with his canoe. Though it doesn't appear to be a great distance, they have adventures and meet different characters and perhaps find some degrees of love. It was sort of a reverse Wizard of Oz, with Sigga being aware of how fortunate she is at home, but wanting to try a new thing. At first she has perhaps not thought it fully through and thus hesitates until she learns what it is she wants from the journey, which is not a departure but an adventure. Her friends also come to an understanding of things they want as well. Though it has some of the tropes of a coming of age movie, it felt like it was reaching more towards myth than angst.

I really rather enjoyed this movie. It definitely was not what I was expecting but I stuck with it & I'm glad I did. My interpretation was that Sigga was depressed. She wasn't meant for the grey, dark & cold climate of Iceland. As beautiful as we may see it. She dreamed of "Sunny California". It was very obvious to me. We all know that the sun is very powerful for people who live with depression. And all she wanted was the sun. Her friends did their best as teens could to support her. Nikki was a distraction, he was her depression trying to bring her down, trying to keep her in that mindset. Seriously give it a chance. I think you'll enjoy it.

A lot of people seem to miss the point of this film. Yes, it's not perfect. The acting is patchy, the themes could have been explored more fully. The cinematography didn't blow me away, although it had its moments. But it is such a charming evocation of Iceland, the sound track is beautiful and the story is inspiring. Definitely a must watch. Just suspend your inner critic and accept that this film is a fairy tale, asking you what your 'California' is, what you are willing to do to get there. Most people don't go, which is why most people will not be inspired by this film. I hope you are different.

It's just really weird, story makes no sense and the acting is terrible. I thought this was a comedy but turns out it's not supposed to be funny and that it should be taken seriously. It's like The Room but that film was at least enjoyable where this film lacks any charisma. Stay away (unless you like terrible films)

In a typical epic poem derived from legends the hero is on a quest and is beset by all sorts of bizarre obstacles placed in their path. In this film a young Icelandic woman who aspires to be a poet decides to travel to California because she hates the dark and loves the sun. Her family and friends don't want her to go but assist her nonetheless. But before she can get on a plane she encounters two obnoxious American men, a poet and a film-maker, who block her progress. This not a film for the uneducated. This a not a film for morons who only like car chases and gunfights. This a film for people who like the Iliad and Beowulf, and would love to see a female hero on a poetic quest. Keep an eye out for the squishy elephant.

And it stars Judd Nelson?? From Breakfast Club??? I have to assume this is some kind of money laundering scheme or something???? Acting, terrible. Music, terrible. Cinematography, terrible. Writing? Lol. ???? And this is only the second movie (out of a total of TWO) in nearly 20 years coming from this director, whose first movie also seems to be of questionable and odd quality?? (Which also happens to randomly star another huge celebrity, Kate Winslet???) This mystery is infinitely more interesting than anything happening in this so-called "movie" Please someone let me know wtf is happening.

Charming little film. A warning to those who love CGI generated violence and dramatic action play Mobile with someone killed every five minutes. It's not the film for you. This coming-of-age comedy - in spite odmf a loving family, a good home life, and loving, supporting friends, she longs for a great adventure leaving the security to go out into the world. She grew up in one of the safest places in the world, rural Iceland. I wonder what she would have experienced when she made it to tapanga in the Los Angeles area. It certainly would've opened her eyes to another fast paced part of the world, and she would've learned from it. Don't many of his have the same advent when we going to college or university or go into the military. We lose our innocence. But my guess is Sigga eventually she would've gone back to Iceland.

The gorgeous, breath-taking landscape of Iceland is the ultimate source of energy that feeds the soul of Max Newsom's Iceland is Best. Against the incredible vistas of black-sand beaches, snow-filled valleys and jagged mountain ranges, the stirring majesty of the island both contrasts and complements the film's subtle meditation on love and relationships; on youthful existentialism; on innocence and experience. Of course, the real lead role is held for Iceland itself. There is something ethereal and transcendental about this small volcanic outcrop of rock. This land of fire and ice famously inspired J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth; and before him, Jules Verne chose Iceland as the gateway for his Journey to the centre of the earth (itself inspired by Icelandic sagas), as Verne's protagonists begin their journey via Iceland's Snæfellsjökull glacier. And while Newsom can't resist a sly reference to this final point of trivia - as one character reveals the fate of another - it's ultimately further proof of the love that the director has for this island. It's a love that is evident in every shot, the light of the ice and sun brilliantly captured on stunning 35mm. It combines to provide a meditative quality to the cinematography that perfectly matches the setting, and perhaps ultimately provides the evidence to support the film's central hypothesis: Iceland is best.