This is a serious fun political and social satire. I only wish I were Icelandic, because I would have been rolling on the floor. On a reality based level, this movie is about a dysfunctional family. The patriarch of the family is an "old school" Icelander trying to run a fishery (while writing his memoirs). He is stoic and practical to a "t". He alienates the younger generation by being totally about the fishery and how it is supposed to be for the good of the community - a small town in Iceland. The son has spent years of schooling in France and has returned home for the holidays (and because he is broke). As one elderly woman in the family quips 'All that education to the younger generation, and what good does it do?'.
The women in the movie are supposed to be the submissive females of the Icelandic society, but they are anything but. The women in the family are aggressive, greedy, and downright crazy. The only one with any sense is the Mother and the Grandmother. The Grandmother is the wise matriarch, who knows everything about everything and lives life like an elderly George Burns (whiskey, cigarettes, etc.).
There are also funny minor characters. The youngest son is the teenager. He is totally the opposite of what you would expect in Iceland. He is the white hip hopper/rapper, who only wants American cheeseburgers, fries, and to play video games. The modern Icelander has outsiders - Asians, blacks, etc. They are tolerated, but the Icelanders still stick around with their own. There is also the town policeman, who is so disrespected that his only authority left is to arrest the local ram sheep.
The movie comes to a fore when the children are all arguing over who will inherit the fishery. They even plot to get their father committed. In the end the factory burns down, and everyone's dreams and schemes come to a crash. I think that a deeper level this movie is a brilliant satire of Iceland in the early 21st Century. You may not know Icelandic, but the English subtitles are enough to understand and laugh about this brilliant satirical comedy.
The women in the movie are supposed to be the submissive females of the Icelandic society, but they are anything but. The women in the family are aggressive, greedy, and downright crazy. The only one with any sense is the Mother and the Grandmother. The Grandmother is the wise matriarch, who knows everything about everything and lives life like an elderly George Burns (whiskey, cigarettes, etc.).
There are also funny minor characters. The youngest son is the teenager. He is totally the opposite of what you would expect in Iceland. He is the white hip hopper/rapper, who only wants American cheeseburgers, fries, and to play video games. The modern Icelander has outsiders - Asians, blacks, etc. They are tolerated, but the Icelanders still stick around with their own. There is also the town policeman, who is so disrespected that his only authority left is to arrest the local ram sheep.
The movie comes to a fore when the children are all arguing over who will inherit the fishery. They even plot to get their father committed. In the end the factory burns down, and everyone's dreams and schemes come to a crash. I think that a deeper level this movie is a brilliant satire of Iceland in the early 21st Century. You may not know Icelandic, but the English subtitles are enough to understand and laugh about this brilliant satirical comedy.