Cinema
Land and Sons
Land og synir
Ágúst Guðmundsson · 1980
Synopsis
In 1937, at the height of the crisis, the farmers of a valley in northern Iceland, crushed by debt, sell up one after another and leave for the towns. When his father dies, young Einar inherits the farm. He is attached to his land, to his white horse and to Margrét, the neighbour's daughter, who would like to keep him there; but Reykjavík draws him, and he must choose between staying and leaving.
Context
Drawn from a novel by Indriði G. Þorsteinsson published in 1963, who takes part in the screenplay and plays the pastor, the film is the first to be released of the three initially backed by the national film fund, founded in 1978; it was released on 25 January 1980. The shoot lasts seven weeks in 1979, in the Svarfaðardalur, near Dalvík, with amateurs around two professional actors, Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Jón Sigurbjörnsson; for lack of means, the crew works on film offcuts with an old soundproofed camera. About a third of Icelanders saw it in cinemas.
Who it is for
A slow film, attentive to the rhythm of peasant life; in Icelandic, a little over an hour and a half.
Prizes and reception
The first film Iceland submitted to the Oscars, without a nomination; silver prize at the Taormina festival.