101 Reykjavik Review

101 Reykjavik
Icelandic mummy's boy manages to impregnate his girlfriend and the Spanish lesbian lover of his recently outed mother.

by David Parkinson |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jun 2001

Running Time:

89 minutes

Certificate:

18

Original Title:

101 Reykjavik

Debutant director Baltasar Kormakur shredded a 400-page novel to arrive at this offbeat offering that seems to be both a 'coming out' and 'going straight' kind of comedy.

The reformation is undertaken by Hlynur (Hilmur Snaer Gudnason), who has been content enough, until he impregnates both his girlfriend and Lola (Abril), the Spanish dance teacher who has embarked on a lesbian relationship with his mother (Karlsdottir).

Although it combines Almodovarian touches of extravagance with a peculiar brand of Icelandic humour, there are also distinctive echoes of Fargo and Gazon Maudit in the way Kormakur depicts the snow-sedated community.

Almodovar regular Abril is perfect as the Hispanic spitfire. But it's Gudnason's laconic mommy's boy and Karlsdottir's emancipated house slave who catch the eye, while the dissonant score - co-written by Damon Albarn, who owns a bar in Reykjavik, ensnares the ear.

Fuelled with enough sex, drug use and offbeat humour to make you immediately book a flight to Iceland, this initially chilly comedy soon warms up to pleasing effect.
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