[FILM REVIEW] GODLAND Review (2023)
Summary: At the end of the 19th century, a young Danish priest is sent to a remote part of Iceland. The deeper he travels into the Icelandic landscape, the more he loses a sense of his own reality, his mission and his sense of duty.
Year: 2023
Cinema Release Dates: 3rd August 2023 (Australia), TBA (Thailand), TBA (UK), 3rd February 2023 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: 20th June 2023 (USA)
Country: Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden
Director: Hlynur Palmason
Screenwriter: Hlynur Palmason
Cast: Fridik Fridiksson (Fridrik), Hilmar Guojonsson (Translator), Snaebjorg Guomundsdottir (Snaesa), Ida Mekkin Hlynsdottir (Ida), Elliott Crosset Hove (Lucas), Jacob Lohmann (Carl), Gunnar Bragi Porsteinsson (Gunnar), Fridrik Hrafn Reynisson (Frikki), Waage Sando (Vincent), Ingvar Sigurdsson (Ragnar), Vic Carmen Sonne (Anna)
Running Time: 143 mins
Classification: M (Australia), 15 (Thailand), 12A (UK), TBC (USA)
OUR GODLAND REVIEWS
David Griffiths, Harley Woods and Kyle McGrath’s Godland Review
Harley’s rating Out Of 5
David’s rating Out Of 5
Kyle’s rating Out Of 5
Alex First’s Godland Review
Blessed by mesmerising cinematography of breathtaking vistas, Godland is a dramatic period piece, in which man and nature collide.
It is set in the late 19th century, when Iceland was under Danish rule.
Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove) is a young and ambitious Danish priest charged with travelling to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people.
His superior (Waage Sandø) warns him that due to the harsh climate the church must be built before winter sets in.
A film about inner and outer conflicts, it soon becomes clear that Lucas has bitten off more than he can chew.
To get to where he is heading requires slow progress on horseback across spectacular but dangerous terrain, littered with glaciers and rivers.
There to guide him is a rugged and hardy older guide, Ragnar (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson), along with a translator (Hilmar Guðjónsso) and small crew.
Carrying cumbersome camera equipment and a heavy cross proves particularly challenging.
The obstacles are many and Lucas’ “push on” mentality has tragic consequences.
He and Ragnar don’t see eye to eye. In fact, the clergyman is overwhelmed and resents the guide.
Rescued from death’s door, Lucas is taken in by a Danish widower, Carl (Jacob Hauberg Lohmann), and his two daughters.
Anna (Vic Carmen Sonne) and Ida (Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir) warm to him, but not so their father.
More trials and clashes follow for Lucas.
While watching and admiring this art-house picture, I was reminded of a movie I saw many times when I was studying film at university.
Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God had a significant and positive influence on me. Godland also casts a large shadow.
It is the work of filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day), a story about losing one’s identity.
Arguably, religion is on trial here and it doesn’t fare well.
On one level, the harsh terrain sits comfortably alongside the natural beauty inherent within it.
On another, tolerance, understanding and respect are sorely tested.
Elliott Crosset Hove plays the role of Lucas as humourless and overwrought. He makes the man of the cloth unlikeable.
In a contrasting role, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson is about brawn. He is an outdoorsman who is in tune with nature and all it throws up.
It is difficult to understand what Anna sees in Lucas other than a way out of a routine and colourless life. Born in Denmark, she longs to go back there.
Vic Carmen Sonne brings a measure of duty and warmth to her characterisation, while there’s youthful exuberance about Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir as her sister.
Jacob Hauberg Lohmann is seen as principled and not to be crossed as their father.
Maria von Hausswolff’s cinematography is luminous (shot on 35mm film, the film is square with rounded corners), aided by Alex Zhang Hungtai’s arresting score.
Inspired by seven photos taken by a Danish priest, thought to be the first visual images of Iceland’s southeastern coast, Godland is beautiful and brutal.
Emotionally fraught, to his credit, Pálmason makes us think and feel.
Alex’s rating Out Of 5
Average Subculture rating Out Of 5
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