Review of 101 Reykjavik

Introduction

The title refers to the district in Iceland`s capital city where Hlynur, an unemployed loner, seems to spend most of his time. He spends a lot of this time smoking, drinking, watching porn, partying and screwing around and is the quintessential slacker. Things start to get interesting with the introduction of a flamenco dance teacher, Victoria Abril, who happens to be his mothers` lesbian lover.

Video

101 Reykjavik is presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer which for the most part seems pretty clean. I couldn`t notice many problems with the film at all apart from some softness in some of the scenes. It`s here that it becomes difficult to tell if this movie is actually shot on film or DV. This doesn`t really make any difference to the story though, it`s just an observation. Detailing doesn`t seem as high as it could be, and the colours really don`t strike me as breaking through. It could be intentional in making Reykjavik seem somewhat bleak in turn reflecting Hlynur`s outlook.

Audio

Nothing really to write home about. We have a DD2.0 soundtrack which is functional and clear. Dialogue is pretty easy to listen to, if you can understand Icelandic. The English subtitles work well enough though you`ll find yourself winding back every now and again trying to understand some of the jokes. There`s no real drama to work the speakers into overtime so it`s fine for the story.

Features

Nice animated menus which give us access to a few features on the disc which are Trailer, Filmographies, Scene Selection and English Subtitles (on or off). The trailer is an overly long trailer which does spoil things if you haven`t already seen the movie. The animated menus are okay, the Scene Selection is quite slow and the subtitles work as well as one might expect. Filmographies presents us with pages of text on the leading players plus Director Baltasar Kormákur.

Conclusion

I knew nothing of this film and was quite interested to see what it was all about. Where do I even begin to tell you about the film without spoiling it? It`s hard, but it would be a shame to tell you things that happen which are a genuine surprise. Needless to say that the cast here are good and play well together. I found myself sympathising with the main character, Hlynur, by the end of the movie. All through the film he plays his part with complete indifference and irresponsibility. Spanish actor Victoria Abril is the flamenco teacher and she`s quite funny too and really messes up Hlynur`s life. God only knows how his Mother puts up with him in the house all day sponging welfare! The relationship between him and his mother, her lover and his on and off girlfriend work pretty well and this helps to keep the film going forward.

101 Reykjavik is kind of a dark comic look at life in Iceland as it does have its funny and poignant moments and I found myself enjoying the film from the start. The script is pretty good and Hlynur has some great lines. It`s certainly a quirky film and it`s different to most DVD movies coming out at the moment. If you`re looking for something a little different this is a movie to see. Not much replay value in this though so rent instead of buy.