NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

ejamessnyder 101 Reykjavik is without a doubt the single best Icelandic film I've ever seen. To be honest, I've seen very few Icelandic films, which was why I decided to watch this one. I realized at some point that I hadn't seen much of this small nation's cinematic output, so I decided to look up a list of its films and this one sounded intriguing. I watched it and I was not disappointed.The story itself is not as unique or original as I had expected based on the synopsis I had read. It also was not as dark as I thought it would be. However, it was still funny and original enough to keep me entertained. I almost described the lead character as an antihero, but even that label is too nice. He's not a hero in any sense of the word. He's not a lovable loser, because he's not lovable. He's selfish and he's more of a villain, but that doesn't mean we don't care enough to watch him and see what happens. And as I young man, I was able to relate to him from time to time and see my own flaws reflected in his. But I didn't find myself hoping that everything worked out well for him.My favorite part of the film is near the end, when our lead character—after spending most of the film trying to figure out what's causing his problems and making excuses for his selfish and lazy behavior—comes to the grand realization that his flaws are the result of his parents' seemingly unrelated flaws. He states that he is merely the flightless offspring of two birds that were never meant to mate.Another highlight was the lead character's apartment, which he shares with his mother and, later, her female friend. They have a bathtub/shower that is located in the open dining area and which, when not in use, converts into a bench for people to sit on. There a couple of really fun scenes featuring this strange contraption.Overall, I enjoyed this film very much and would compare it to the movie Garden State. The story is quite different, but the overall feeling I got from it is similar. It makes me want to see more of the films that Iceland has to offer.

tothemax311 '101 Reykjavik', directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur in 2000, and based off the novel by the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason offers a melodramatic look into the changing cultural landscape of Iceland as they enter the modern world through urbanization. 101 Reykjavik also depicts an oddly comedic coming-to-age story that turns the main character's mundane lifestyle upside down into a quirky wake-up call to enter the real world.'101 Reykjavik' is the story of an almost 30 year-old man by the name of Hlynur. Hlynur has no job, and doesn't really care to find one, while he enjoys downloading porn in the daytime and going out to the bar in Reykjavik and getting smashed- usually hooking up with a girl almost every night. On top of all this, he lives with his mother. However, one day, along comes his mother's friend Lola, a Spanish flamenco instructor. Quickly, Lola adds a bit of foreign color and excitement to the movies landscape and to Hlynur's dull lifestyle. Lola, we find out, is a lesbian who is in love with Hlynur's mother, Berglind, who also shares this love in return. One night, while Berglind is away visiting her relatives, Hlynur takes Lola out for a night on the town and, unsurprisingly, gets smashed and has sex with Lola. Hlynur becomes torn by this hookup for he is jealous of his mothers and Lola's relationship. Yet, out of respectful for his mother, he wants to accept her lesbian relationship with Lola. The film comes to a climax when we find out that not only may the girl that he has been hooking up with may be pregnant, but also that he has impregnated Lola. Hlynur is pushed to the edge. We learn that the girl isn't pregnant with his child, but that doesn't calm Hlynur who knows that the child Lola is carrying is still his. The movie begins to come to a close with Hlynur beginning to realize that he needs to change his lifestyle and possibly enter the "real-world" that he had dreaded to be'come apart of.As my first Icelandic film '101 Reykjavik' was surprisingly pleasing and oddly comedic. By the end of the movie I was both engaged with analyzing the character of Hlynur while noticing symbolism to common universal themes such as coming-to-age, but also noticing themes that have becoming common for Icelandic film.The coming-to-age theme is overwhelming present throughout the film. As a man who still lives and relies on his mother, and on the government for that matter on unemployment checks, he sees no reason to work in life since he can easily live a happy life with what he gets and has to look out for no one. With the progressing pregnancy of Lola Hlynur begins to realize the child is on the way and he, out of respect for his mother, but also realizing that he has to live with his mother and Lola, begins to realize he will have to care for his son/brother. With the arrival of the child Hlynur realizes his new life as a caregiver and comes out of his stubborn way of life. With an arguably religious scene where he is lying on a mountain covered in snow that starts to wash off with rain, Hlynur is cleansed of his past life- both his lazy lifestyle, and of his jealously over his mother and Lola. This scene is appropriately juxtaposed with the baptism of the child and both scenes are a complete turn away from the dark and gloomy tone of the whole film, offering for the first time a look at the true beauty of the natural landscape of Iceland.Seeing this juxtaposition with the rural landscape of Iceland for the first time presents us with the typically Icelandic theme of the rural vs. urban landscape that is representative of Iceland moving from a small and relatively unknown country into the modern-day landscape. The sense of disconnect felt by Hlynur between real-life and that of the entertaining, and of the depicted almost surreal lifestyle of the city, at least for me, could be representative of the whole nations struggle for finding its place in the new world, if not, at least a balance between the two. Hlynur's age of 30 also reminds me of Generation X- a transition generation between the old and the new- this could also be another symbolic element of the film as it shows that the young adults in Iceland are also at a disconnect with feelings of connecting their childhood lives from the 'rural' Iceland, with that of their adulthood lives in the 'urban' Iceland.If I were to offer any criticism of the film it would be that I felt the film stopped short of really offering an in-depth look at the characters in the film. While the characters were presented well I felt that it would have been interesting to go further in analyzing the nightlife lived out by Hlynur to further explore the generational disconnect. However, the awkward pause that is presented by looking at the in-depth nature of this could also be a cleaver way of expressing the awkward nature of Icelandic people themselves, and of their shy, reserved, and awkward lifestyle that is holding back any true expression.Overall, I loved the film, and would recommend it to anyone with in interest in looking at the lifestyles and personality of the Nordic people. This, coupled with an enjoyment of an old sense of disconnected humor, paints a beautiful melodramatic look into the changing cultural landscape of Iceland, while offering a fun and quirky coming-to-age story.

huygens I have been living in Iceland for a year and a half and got a picture of the country, its people and its capital, Reykjavík (I actually even lived in the 101 postal code in Reykjavík). This movie is really highlighting a type of persons that I have met quite often in Iceland. I think it is a clear and accurate picture of an important part of the young population. The main actor, Hilmir Snær Guðnason (Hlynur), is really expressing this disillusion that you can feel while enjoying Reykjavík's night life. If you want to go to this marvelous country or if you just interested how one can survived after a few months winter night, this is the movie to go watching. But do not worry, there is more than that in Iceland.

frankwhat I was extremely impressed with this movie as I'm pretty sure it's the first film I've ever watched that originated in Iceland. It's very obvious that they don't mess around over there! Both in making motion pictures and their everyday lifestyles. American slackers can't hold a candle to the main character here. He had the system going for him in each way he could. All he did was surf the Internet and watch porn (sometimes even weird stuff like the animal kind or even as simple as women exercising), and would either drink, do drugs, or have sex at night. The girls in this were pretty cute; they weren't hot compared to Hollywood standards but they're all natural and that's a thing we rarely see here anymore. The European people seem more laid back when it comes to their forms of entertainment and don't get all worked up if a little adult content slips into their art which is a good thing. The parents over here are such hypocrites it's disgusting. They'll go all crazy if they see the slightest displeasing thing on the screen but then when it comes to their real lives they do some highly immoral deeds themselves. But that's just the way it goes. I did like how the main character in this is both funny but also steps back and analyzed life at times too which proves he's deeper than you'd think at first look.Final Chill:Movies: Not much would be added to the viewing this way.DVD Purchase: Yes, but it'll take awhile to track it down for a decent price.Rental: If you're looking for something a little off the beaten path then you'll love it!