The so called relaxed and homely way of life the Scandinavians seem to have monopolised: is it real, can we learn something from it? These matters will be discussed by philosopher Stine Jensen, born in Denmark, and Balie-programmer Parwin Mirrahimy. In Dutch, that is.
Echo
Iceland, Christmas is coming up: as everyone is busy preparing for the holidays, a strange atmosphere falls upon the country, with alternating feelings of excitement and concern. In the middle of the countryside, an abandoned farm is burning; in a school, a children's choir is singing Christmas carols; in a museum, a woman is arguing with her ex-husband on the phone; two undertakers are arranging the fabric lining of a child's coffin; chickens are parading along a rail in a slaughterhouse; and so on.
There are no full stories, with a beginning, middle and end, in this third feature by Icelandic director RĂșnar RĂșnarsson, who also wrote the script. Everyone abandoning this expectation, will be treated to a magical mosaic of 56 different scenes, each of them a single, fixed-camera shot. Iceland itself plays the leading role in this portrait of a modern society painted in both biting and tender tones.
