101 Reykjavík
Encyclopedia
101 Reykjavík is a 2000 film set in Reykjavík
, Iceland
based on a book of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason
. It was directed by Baltasar Kormákur and stars Victoria Abril and Hilmir Snær Guðnason. The name of the film is taken from the postal code for down-town Reykjavík, "the old city". The film won nine B-class film awards and received ten nominations most notably winning the Discovery Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival
.
Hlynur's isolated world — no small metaphor for his home country — is going along rather blissfully ignorant of the greater joys involved with engaging in life until his mother's friend Lola Milagros arrives to stay at the house for a while. Lola is a Spanish flamenco
instructor with a seductive smile, a sultry voice and a carpe-diem
attitude. Unknown to Hlynur, she is also in love with his mother, Berglind. An enigmatic character, Lola quickly becomes the center of the household dynamic when, after a night of heavy drinking while mom is away, she and Hlynur sleep together. The fling remains a secret between Hlynur and Lola. (Throughout the film, the song Lola
often plays as background music.) As Hlynur gradually learns of their lesbian
relationship, he becomes jealous of it, realizing that he was simply a momentary fling for Lola, but he is also the dutiful son who wants to accept his mother's newfound lesbianism and be happy for her. He also has occasional oedipal / incestuous dreams about his mother.
Lola wants Hlynur to get out of the house and find himself something to do because she recognizes from the start that that's what he needs most, but Hlynur prefers to pass the time in a true slacker fashion with plenty of excess and not an iota of effort. He sees no real future for himself, rather an entire life supported by the Icelandic welfare state. "It's a great system." he says. When asked what he does, Hlynur responds with, "Nothing." Pushed further with, "What kind of nothing?" he replies the only way he can: "A nothing kind of nothing." Not even death is a serious topic for Hlynur — intoxicating, out-all-night weekends inspire, "Each weekend I drop dead." He says this while lighting up a Lucky atop a snow-capped mountain, where he lies down as the snow gradually covers him up, but his plans are scuppered by rainfall melting his would-be tomb. His mixed up thoughts include musings about suicide: "The worst thing about AIDS as a method of suicide is that it takes so long to die from it."
On the other hand, Hlynur's fantasy life is alive with passion and glimpses of his subconscious show us a deeply conflicted sense of self. Flashbacks of an alcoholic father mix with sexual fantasies of the lovely Lola but quickly reveal that mom's in bed, too. During a quick trip to the suburbs for a dinner with extended family, Hlynur, so comically disturbed by the mundane family ritual
(they actually gather to watch a video of last year's family dinner), imagines a bloodbath
scene killing everyone at close range with a shotgun. When brought back to reality, Hlynur's blank slate and effortless personality come back into the fore: "I was thinking what a nice couch you have," he explains to the previously slaughtered family.
Hlynur's confusion over the whole situation is expressed in his rather profound and imaginative musings:
The film progresses as Hlynur comes to terms with his mother's love for Lola and his own feelings of inadequacy with her. The announcement that Lola is pregnant pushes him to the brink, making living under the same roof next to impossible for all three, but after a lot of acting out and flippant commentary Hlynur begins to see life little differently. The infant's arrival also symbolically coincides neatly with Hlynur's homecoming to the world outside his bedroom and a newfound contentedness. The strong possibility that he is the father of Lola's child has been a secret between Lola and Hlynur, and this is more than hinted at in the closing scenes of the happy household composed of mother, son, Lola, and Lola's baby who calls him Papa.
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
based on a book of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason
Hallgrímur Helgason
Hallgrímur Helgason is an Icelandic painter, novelist, translator, and columnist.-Biography:Hallgrímur studied at the Art Academy of Iceland, and then the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich....
. It was directed by Baltasar Kormákur and stars Victoria Abril and Hilmir Snær Guðnason. The name of the film is taken from the postal code for down-town Reykjavík, "the old city". The film won nine B-class film awards and received ten nominations most notably winning the Discovery Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
.
Plot
Geek Hlynur is approaching the grand old age of 30, he still lives with his mother who is divorced from his alcoholic father, downloads cyberporn and wanders around Reykjavík half-heartedly searching for a job while spending lots of time in Kaffibarinn, the central Reykjavík bar which just happens to be owned by writer/director Baltasar Kormákur and his soundtrack composer Damon Albarn, a long-standing Icelandophile. The cramped, dark and oddly furnished house in which Hlynur and his mother live features a bath which transfigures into a sofa as Hlynur steps naked out of it, in the middle of the lounge with his mother watching.Hlynur's isolated world — no small metaphor for his home country — is going along rather blissfully ignorant of the greater joys involved with engaging in life until his mother's friend Lola Milagros arrives to stay at the house for a while. Lola is a Spanish flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
instructor with a seductive smile, a sultry voice and a carpe-diem
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
attitude. Unknown to Hlynur, she is also in love with his mother, Berglind. An enigmatic character, Lola quickly becomes the center of the household dynamic when, after a night of heavy drinking while mom is away, she and Hlynur sleep together. The fling remains a secret between Hlynur and Lola. (Throughout the film, the song Lola
Lola (song)
"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man and a transvestite he meets in a club in Soho, London....
often plays as background music.) As Hlynur gradually learns of their lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
relationship, he becomes jealous of it, realizing that he was simply a momentary fling for Lola, but he is also the dutiful son who wants to accept his mother's newfound lesbianism and be happy for her. He also has occasional oedipal / incestuous dreams about his mother.
Lola wants Hlynur to get out of the house and find himself something to do because she recognizes from the start that that's what he needs most, but Hlynur prefers to pass the time in a true slacker fashion with plenty of excess and not an iota of effort. He sees no real future for himself, rather an entire life supported by the Icelandic welfare state. "It's a great system." he says. When asked what he does, Hlynur responds with, "Nothing." Pushed further with, "What kind of nothing?" he replies the only way he can: "A nothing kind of nothing." Not even death is a serious topic for Hlynur — intoxicating, out-all-night weekends inspire, "Each weekend I drop dead." He says this while lighting up a Lucky atop a snow-capped mountain, where he lies down as the snow gradually covers him up, but his plans are scuppered by rainfall melting his would-be tomb. His mixed up thoughts include musings about suicide: "The worst thing about AIDS as a method of suicide is that it takes so long to die from it."
On the other hand, Hlynur's fantasy life is alive with passion and glimpses of his subconscious show us a deeply conflicted sense of self. Flashbacks of an alcoholic father mix with sexual fantasies of the lovely Lola but quickly reveal that mom's in bed, too. During a quick trip to the suburbs for a dinner with extended family, Hlynur, so comically disturbed by the mundane family ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
(they actually gather to watch a video of last year's family dinner), imagines a bloodbath
Bloodbath
Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup from Stockholm formed in 1998.-History:A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, Dan Swanö on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström on guitar, and Jonas Renkse on bass, released their EP Breeding...
scene killing everyone at close range with a shotgun. When brought back to reality, Hlynur's blank slate and effortless personality come back into the fore: "I was thinking what a nice couch you have," he explains to the previously slaughtered family.
Hlynur's confusion over the whole situation is expressed in his rather profound and imaginative musings:
There they are... my mother the lesbian, and my father the boozer. What am I then? The offspring of a lesbian and a boozer? It's like two birds of different species. The lesbian bird and the boozer bird. The boozer is a wetland bird. He's rather heavy... and needs a good run-up to get off the ground. He can fly for a long time and has good stamina. Several weeks may pass by before he gets back on the ground. In between he lies low and goes on the defensive. Especially for the first days after landing. The lesbian. Unlike the boozer... the lesbian is a relative newcomer to Icelandic nature. She is thought to have migrated from Denmark and Britain. Her only contact with the male bird is during conception. In recent years we have witnessed cases of male birds... who are unable to fly at all. The offspring of a boozer and a lesbian is the Hlynur... an unusually slow developer that can't fly... and remains with his mother for the first 30 years. The Hlynur is defensive by nature, but harmless.
The film progresses as Hlynur comes to terms with his mother's love for Lola and his own feelings of inadequacy with her. The announcement that Lola is pregnant pushes him to the brink, making living under the same roof next to impossible for all three, but after a lot of acting out and flippant commentary Hlynur begins to see life little differently. The infant's arrival also symbolically coincides neatly with Hlynur's homecoming to the world outside his bedroom and a newfound contentedness. The strong possibility that he is the father of Lola's child has been a secret between Lola and Hlynur, and this is more than hinted at in the closing scenes of the happy household composed of mother, son, Lola, and Lola's baby who calls him Papa.
Cast
- Victoria Abril as Lola
- Hilmir Snær Guðnason as Hlynur
- Hanna María Karlsdóttir as Berglind
- Þrúður Vilhjálmsdóttir as Hófí
- Baltasar Kormákur as Þröstur
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Marri
- Þröstur Leó GunnarssonÞröstur Leó GunnarssonÞröstur Leó Gunnarsson , born 23 April 1961 in Reykjavík, Iceland, is an Icelandic stage, film and television actor.Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson graduated from the Icelandic School of Drama in 1985...
as Brúsi - Eyvindur Erlendsson as Hafsteinn
- Halldóra Björnsdóttir as Elsa
- Hilmar Jonsson as Magnús
- Jóhann Sigurðarson as Páll
- Edda Heidrún Backman as Páll's wife
- Guðmundur Ingi Þorvaldsson as Ellert
- Gunnar Eyjólfsson as the neighbor
- Jónína Ólafsdóttir as woman at the employment office
Awards
- Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
(2000)- Discovery Award - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Discovery Award - Baltasar Kormakur
- Thessaloniki Film Festival (2000)
- FIPRESCI Prize - Parallel Sections: Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- FIPRESCI Prize - Parallel Sections: Baltasar Kormakur
- Lübeck Nordic Film Days (2000)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Baltasar Kormakur
- Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film FestivalThe Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
(2000)- Youth Jury Award - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Youth Jury Award - Baltasar Kormakur
- Iceland Edda Awards (2000)
- Edda Award - Professional Category: Screenwriting: Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Edda Award - Professional Category: Sound: Kjartan Kjartansson
- Edda Award - Professional Category: Screenwriting: Baltasar Kormakur
- Pula Film FestivalPula Film FestivalThe Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival which is held annually in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula arena since 1954. The festival is usually held in the summer, in July or August....
(2001)- Big Golden Arena Award - Best Film: Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Big Golden Arena Award - Best Film: Baltasar Kormakur
- Tbilisi International Film Festival (2001)
- Prize of the Union of Georgian Filmmakers - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Prize of the Union of Georgian Filmmakers - Baltasar Kormakur
Nominations
- Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film FestivalThe Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
(2000)- Golden Leopard Award - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Golden Leopard Award - Baltasar Kormakur
- European Film AwardEuropean Film Awards 2000-Best European Actor: Sergi López - Harry, He's Here to Help Jamie Bell - Billy Elliot Bruno Ganz - Bread and Tulips Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson - Angels of the Universe Krzysztof Siwczyk - Wojaczek Stellan Skarsgård - Aberdeen-Best European Actress: Björk - Dancer in the Dark Bibiana...
(2000)- European Discovery of the Year - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- European Discovery of the Year - Baltasar Kormakur
- Iceland Edda Awards (2000)
- Edda Award - Actor of the Year: Hilmir Snær GuðnasonHilmir Snær GuðnasonHilmir Snær Guðnason is an Icelandic actor. He is famous in his native country and has appeared in both film and on stage. In 2000 he was named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion...
- Edda Award - Actress of the Year: Hanna María Karlsdóttir
- Edda Award - Actress of the Year: Victoria AbrilVictoria AbrilVictoria Abril is a Spanish film actress. She is best known to international audiences for her performance in the movie ¡Átame! by director Pedro Almodóvar....
- Edda Award - Best Film
- Edda Award - Director of the Year: Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Edda Award - Actor of the Year: Hilmir Snær Guðnason
- CamerimageCamerimageThe International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE is a festival dedicated to cinematography and its creators cinematographers.The first seven events were held in Toruń, Poland. The next ten events were held in Łódź...
(2000)- Golden Frog Award - Peter SteugerPeter SteugerPeter Steuger is a German-born cinematographer who has worked mostly on German films after a start in Icelandic cinema. He was nominated for a Golden Frog Award for his cinematography on the acclaimed 2000 Icelandic film 101 Reykjavík....
- Golden Frog Award - Peter Steuger
- Bogota Film Festival (2001)
- Golden Precolumbian Circle Award - Best Film: Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Golden Precolumbian Circle Award - Best Film: Baltasar Kormakur
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaThe Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
(2001)- Best Film Award - Baltasar KormakurBaltasar KormákurBaltasar Kormákur is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films 101 Reykjavík, Hafið, A Little Trip to Heaven , and a film based on the book Mýrin by Arnaldur Indriðason...
- Best Film Award - Baltasar Kormakur