Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Nói (Nói albínói) - Movie
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This film is what I would define as a more sophisticated, realistic version of a romantic drama/comedy. It is one of those movies that, I think, would be far more effective as a book. I must say though, I did like it.
The story follows Nói, a jaded seventeen year-old living in the remote small town of Bolungarvík in western Iceland, through the trials and tribulations of a life being lived in the middle of nowhere. Although he is established as an individual of exceptional intelligence, his ambition is handicapped by boredom and routine. If he is not alone in the tiny cellar under his grandmothers house smoking cigarettes and listening to music, he is skipping class and spending his time buying malts (bought with the money made from a rigged slot machine) at the local coffee shop/gas station.
Then, the monotonous course of a passing day takes a turn for the better with the introduction of a beautiful city-girl named Iris, the newest employee at the station and Nói's newest romantic conquest. Despite being threatened by the owner of the local bookestore (Iris's father) to leave her alone, Nói can't help himself nor find a genuine reason not to persue her. This girl has seemed to awaken something in Nói, enkindling his until-then latent desire for more than his dreary hometown has to offer. This subsequently leads to aspirations of leaving it altogether, and of course taking his new jewel with him, causing a series of ups and downs, romantic and comedic situations which are as witty as they are remarkable.
Personally, I appriceated not only the insight of this film, regarding what life may have been like if one were born into such a situation, but also its aesthetically pleasing quality. The beauty of the rural icelandic landscapes depicted were of the calibur of the vistas one might see in such a film as Baraka, which a mere postacard could hardly do justice to.
With the relatively un-alluded-to closure of the film, the story as a whole served (to me) as an example of how trifiling things in life truely are, whether you choose to concern yourself with them or not. The frustrating reality of the conclusion may even manifest itself as a lesson to the hesitant or to those who allow thier attachments to arrest what they intuitively desire. I would recommend Nói to anyone who is looking for something that will play on thier appriceation of cleverly comic situations, which at times is honestly romantic yet not over-saturated with such circumstances, and that also stimulates an array of funamentally different emotions and sentiment.
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On a scale of 1-10*...7.
For a more info on Nói, check this out.
*The rating system is purely based on The Alyssa Standard.
