The movie
Godland
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, his mission and morality.
Length: 143 min
Country: Denmark, France, Iceland, Sweden
Language spoken: Icelandic, Danish
Language subtitles: Dutch
Cast: Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Vic Carmen Sonne,Jacob Hauberg Lohmann
Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Release date: 16/02/2023
Description
Shot on location in beautiful Iceland with its overwhelming nature, Hlynur Pálmason’s (‘A White, White Day’) latest is set in the late 19th century, when a young Danish priest (Iceland was colonised by Denmark until after WWII) travels to a remote part of the country to build a church and to photograph the people. But the deeper he dives into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, his mission, and his morality…
‘In Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” man’s ambitions, even in relation to matters as seemingly pure as faith and spirituality, are revealed to be fragile, small, helpless against the omnipotent forces of an unforgiving natural world. Those themes suggest a film of brooding portentousness, and this transfixing drama is certainly austere. But there’s also a marvellously odd vein of sneaky humour running through it, along with an unpredictability that keeps you glued.’—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
‘In Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” man’s ambitions, even in relation to matters as seemingly pure as faith and spirituality, are revealed to be fragile, small, helpless against the omnipotent forces of an unforgiving natural world. Those themes suggest a film of brooding portentousness, and this transfixing drama is certainly austere. But there’s also a marvellously odd vein of sneaky humour running through it, along with an unpredictability that keeps you glued.’—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Reviews
"'An atmosphere of empathy, reason and wit'”
