Kvikmyndapod: An Icelandic Cinema Podcast

Halló! With summer in full swing what better time to visit the bitter winter of 1980s Iceland! Erlingur Thoroddsen's Cold is a psychological horror/thriller set across two timelines. In the present, a detective (played by Johannes Haukur Johanneson) who is haunted by the recent death of his wife investigates a cold case in which two boys died at a detention centre in the 1980s. While in the past,...

Halló! A new Icelandic film reaches UK cinemas in March, and Rob and Ellie travel back to the land of ice and fire to talk all things The Love That Remains. Set in rural Iceland and shot in a similar way to Godland and A White, White Day, Hlynur Pálmason's latest is very different prospect. Lighter and more playful in tone but perhaps also a little more arty, The Love That Remains follows the live...

Halló! For their final discussion of the series, Rob and Ellie travel across continents and decades for a long-lost love story by Baltasar Kormákur. Set in 1960s London and contemporary Iceland and Japan, Touch follows Kristófer as he searches for Miko, a Japanese girl who he loved when he spent time in London as a student, and who mysteriously disappeared one day. With excellent performances from...

Halló! This week Rob and Ellie contemplate the existence of draugar as they discuss recent release 'The Damned'. Director Thordur Palsson's debut feature bears many of the hallmarks of a KVIKMYNDAPOD film with its setting of an isolated village in the Westfjords, gorgeous scenery and a chilling atmosphere, but this one is in the English language. 'The Damned', an ominous and bitter horror/thriller...

Halló! Rob and Ellie travel to yet another remote Icelandic village and meet a whole host of villagers with stories to tell and dreams to dream in Elfar Aðalsteins' film adaptation of Jón Kalman Stefánsson's popular novel 'Summerlight...And Then Comes The Night'. With a large ensemble cast of familiar faces including Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Svandís...

Halló! In this week's minisode Rob and Ellie, together with guest Natalie Peck, head to Reykjavík, by way of the BFI London Film Festival! In a non-spoiler discussion, they chat about the one Icelandic movie that had its UK premiere as part of the 2024 festival. That film is 'When The Light Breaks' starring Elín Hall, directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson, not the Icelandic footballer who plays in goal for...

Halló! Rob and Ellie get their teeth sunk into an English-language Hollywood movie this week, as they follow big time Icelandic director (and actor) Baltasar Kormákur all the way to South Africa to witness Idris Elba punch a lion! In 'Beast', Elba's Dr Nate Samuels takes his daughters on a pilgrimage to their recently deceased mother's village hoping it will bring the family closer together. Matte...

Halló! Rob and Ellie drop into your feeds to discuss a new football documentary - always striking while the iron is hot - titled 'The Home Game', or 'Heimaleikurinn'. Directors Smari Gunn and Logi Sigursveinsson bring the story of Reynir FC to cinemas; 25 years after his father created a pitch in a small town in the west of Iceland and failed to get the local team to play a match on it, Kari picks...

Halló! In the final episode of series 6, Rob and Ellie are back in the capital for another film by one-man movie-making machine Baltasar Kormákur. Anna, the daughter of heart surgeon Finnur, is addicted to drugs and madly in love with her dealer boyfriend and all round bad influence, Óttar. As her father, Finnur takes it into his hands  rid her of the bad boyfriend. But things don't quite go to pl...

Halló! Episode five finds Rob and Ellie in the UK! But not for too long as this week's film follows a group of people with a fear of flying boarding an exposure flight to, you guessed it, Iceland! Our Fearless Flyers include Sarah (played by Lydia Leonard), a competent business woman who wants to overcome her fear so she can go on holiday with her partner and his daughter; Edward (Timothy Spall),...

Halló! For episode four, Rob and Ellie return to Reykjavík and the Nordic Noir genre for 2016's 'Cruelty', directed by Anton Sigurðsson. When two young sisters are found murdered in the woods of a Reykjavík suburb, detectives Edda and Jói are called on to solve a case with few to no clues. But a long list of possible suspects... Starring Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, this i...

Halló! Episode three finds Rob and Ellie taking an eccentric road trip south from the Westfjords of Iceland with Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson's Jón and his deceased mother, played by Kristbjörg Kjeld! Set in the 1980s, Hilmar Oddson's black and white comedy drama is an offbeat delight about a man coming to terms with what his life could have been and now could be. These revelations occur as he drives a...

Halló! This week Rob and Ellie travel north to the remote area of Strandir in the Icelandic Westfjords for a romantic period piece. In Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir's 'A Letter From Helga', or 'Svar við bréfi Helgu', farmers Bjarni and Helga (played beautifully by Thorvaldur Kristjansson and Hera Hilmar) begin a passionate affair as the rest of their small town whisper secrets to one another. Emotions...

Kvikmyndapod is back for series 6! For episode one, Rob and Ellie invite you to a funny, stressful and cringe dinner party in Vesturbær. Directed by Elsa Maria Jakobsdóttir, 'Wild Game' is one of over 20 country-specific adaptations of the Italian movie 'Perfetti sconosciuti', 'Perfect Strangers'. This version features an all star Icelandic cast including Anita Briem, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Nína...

Halló! It's that time again, and on this week's episode Rob and Ellie return to Reykjavík for a conspiracy thriller based on a book. The film is Óskar Thór Axelsson's 'Operation Napoleon: Frozen Conspiracy', based on Arnaldur Indriðason's 1999 best-selling novel 'Operation Napoleon'. Starring Iain Glen, Vivian Ólafsdóttir, Jack Fox and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson this is a romp in the vein of the 'India...

Halló! This week, for Rob and Ellie's fifth trip around the cinema of Iceland, they head back out to the countryside for some creepy goings on at a remote cabin...  The film under discussion this week is Erlingur Thoroddsen’s ‘Rift’, or ‘Rokkur’ from 2017. Gunnar (Björn Stefánsson) and Einar (Sigurður Þór Óskarsson) get to grips with their fractured relationship amid some spooky situations in the...

Halló! This week Rob and Ellie take another trip to south east Iceland just in time for the UK release of Hlynur Pálmason's Godland! An incredibly shot epic about a Danish priest's mission to conquer a corner of Iceland and spread the word of God, this is film-making of the highest level. Elliott Crosset Hove stars as Lucas, the Danish man of God who butts heads with Ingvar Sigurðsson's Ragnar, an...

Halló! Episode three finds Rob and Ellie back in Reykjavík for a psychological thriller from first time director Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, who also wrote the film based on a book by Auður Jónsdóttir. 'Quake', or 'Skjálfti' from 2021 tells the story of an author and mother named Saga who, after an epileptic seizure, experiences memory loss at the same time as hidden memories of family secrets begin to re...

Halló! The second episode of series 5 takes Rob and Ellie to 90s America for a 25-minute, Oscar-nominated coming-of-age animation called 'My Year of Dicks'! Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir and written by American screenwriter and actress Pamela Ribon, the short film is split into five chapters, each one about young Pam's encounters with the boy's she hopes will fall in love with her and take her vi...

Halló! It's series 5! And to kick things off for their fifth journey through the cinema of Iceland, Rob and Ellie are keeping things current with Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson's 'Beautiful Beings', or 'Berdreymi' from 2022! Available to watch on demand from today, Guðmundsson's second feature film focuses on teenage boys once again, except this time in the city. Set in the Reykjavik suburbs, this fi...

Halló! And gleðileg jól! As a little Christmas gift, Rob and Ellie reconvened for a short chat about Christmas, Christmas films, Icelandic films and Icelandic Christmas. This episode is mostly a general chat, however part of the discussion does revolve around a small scene from Grímur Hákonarson's 'Rams' or 'Hrútar' from 2015 - the very first film covered on the podcast. The scene timecode is 45:3...

Halló! And so another journey through the cinema of Iceland ends. For this final episode of series four, Rob and Ellie discuss the multi-narrative drama 'Life in a Fishbowl' from 2014. Baldvin Z's second feature follows the lives of three Icelanders living in Reykjavik and the ways in which they influence each other, for better or worse. One is a single mother and occasional sex worker, one is an...

Halló! This week, Rob and Ellie return to Reykjavik and to the documentary format for Gaukur Úlfarsson's 'Gnarr', a film in which famous Icelandic comedian Jón Gnarr sets up a satirical political party and runs for Mayor of Reykjavík! Over the course of four months Gnarr transforms from joke candidate to favourite, and his outlook and intentions change too... The film can be found at dafilms.com ....

Halló! In this week's minisode Rob and Ellie journey, via Denmark, to the south east of Iceland, by way of the BFI London Film Festival! In a non-spoiler discussion, they chat about the one Icelandic movie that was shown as part of the festival in 2022. One of only eight films in Official Competition!   GODLAND Directed by Hlynur Pálmason Written by Hlynur Pálmason Starring Elliott Crosset Hove, I...

Halló! And Happy Halloween! To celebrate spooky season, Rob and Ellie bring together two recent Icelandic B-Movie horror-comedies. First up is Elvar Gunnarsson’s trippy 'It Hatched' in which a baby is born from an egg laid by a human woman in a guesthouse in a remote fjord. If that doesn't sounds bonkers, then the rest of the film will do the convincing! This is followed by comedy troupe Leikhópur...