DEVIL'S ISLAND
[DJOFLAEYJAN]
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
Iceland/Germany/Norway/Denmark, 1996 Running Length: 1:43 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Mature themes, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, 5/10/97 & 5/11/97
Cast: Baltasar Korm=E1kur, G=EDsli Halld=F3rsson, Sigurveig J=F3nsd=F3ttir Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson Producers: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Peter Rommel, Egil =D6degaard,=20 Peter Aalb=E6k Jensen Screenplay: Einar K=E1rason Cinematography: Ari Kristinsson Music: Hilmar =D6rn Hilmarsson In Icelandic with subtitles
Since 1996's release of COLD FEVER, Fredrik Thor Fridriksson is no=20 longer Iceland's best-kept secret. His first English-language film,=20 which featured an international cast (including former independent queen=20 Lili Taylor, who has since lost her title to Parker Posey), a=20 spectacular setting, and an effective mix of comedy and drama, informed=20 the world that Iceland, despite claiming more sheep than people, has a=20 film industry. In DEVIL'S ISLAND, Fridriksson's latest, the director=20 takes a time trip to his native land during the 1950s. =20
In some ways, DEVIL'S ISLAND is like another Fridriksson film,=20 MOVIE DAYS. Both offer glimpses through windows into the past and each=20 emphasizes one of the film maker's recurring themes: the pervasive=20 influence of American culture on Icelandic society. In MOVIE DAYS,=20 Fridriksson showed how, in 1964, every child in the country was addicted=20 to American music, movies, and television. Going ten more years into=20 the past for DEVIL'S ISLAND, he shows that things weren't much different=20 in post-war Iceland, where the Americans had just abandoned their=20 military base of Camp Thule.
After the departure of the U.S. military, the abandoned base,=20 located in Iceland's largest city, Reykjavik, became a home for the=20 downtrodden -- those who couldn't earn enough to afford a better shelter=20 than the falling-down barracks. It's here, in Camp Thule, that we meet=20 the Tomasson family. There's old Karolina and her husband, Tommi (G=EDsli= =20 Halld=F3rsson, who played the drunken old man at the end of COLD FEVER),=20 who live under the same roof as their three grandchildren -- Baddi, a=20 young rebel with an Elvis fixation; Danni, a shy recluse forever in his=20 brother's shadow when it comes to friends and women; and Dolli, a young=20 mother who is frustrated with married life. Life is hard in the camp,=20 but alcohol flows freely, and, when Baddi starts bringing his drunk=20 friends home for post-midnight rock-and-roll parties, tensions within=20 the house threaten to explode.
Throughout his films, Fridriksson has never been judgmental about=20 the Americanization of Icelandic culture. While one could see DEVIL'S=20 ISLAND as an indictment of that trend -- more negative effects than=20 positive ones are shown -- exactly the opposite was true in MOVIE DAYS,=20 which reflected the director's own childhood experiences. Rather than=20 making a specific political statement, Fridriksson is attempting to=20 present an honest (if occasionally nostalgic) depiction of how things=20 were. While it's true that Baddi loves American rock music and=20 clothing, and cops a James Dean attitude, his disaffection with life=20 comes from someplace deep within.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of DEVIL'S ISLAND is the not-so- friendly brotherly rivalry between Baddi and Danni. Even though Baddi=20 is revered in the neighborhood while Danni is regarded with thinly- veiled contempt, the Elvis-like rebel delights in humiliating his=20 socially inept sibling. Ultimately, however, it's Baddi who remains=20 tied to the ground while Danni is given the opportunity to soar, even if=20 there is a bittersweet twist to this. Fridriksson finds the core of=20 truth in the relationship between these two, and polishes it to near- perfection. =20
Unlike COLD FEVER, which was as much a spiritual journey as a=20 physical one, DEVIL'S ISLAND isn't especially ambitious. In the end,=20 it's really just a simple tale of the sometimes-comic, sometimes-tragic=20 struggles of one family. But it's beautifully photographed and well- written, and those qualities make for an enjoyable motion picture. =20 Though a less "global" movie than its predecessor, DEVIL'S ISLAND=20 deserves the same level of attention accorded to COLD FEVER.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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