It may be partly my fault; I had a hard time getting into it as a movie instead of just pictures being projected on a screen, if you get my drift. I tried hard to concentrate, but I would forget a line seconds after it was spoken/subtitled. It didn't help that the guy next to me chewed loudly on some very stinky food -- I don't know what it was, but it smelled like a hot dog with plastic nacho cheese and boiled tomatoes, and he had enough of it to chew constantly through the entire film. However, no one seemed to enjoy the movie; as we were leaving the theater, the woman in front of me growled to her boyfriend, "Next time, I get to pick the movie. You should not be allowed to pick what movies we see any more."
It wasn't that bad -- it's fair to middling and rather slow, and it plays like a broad parody of The Celebration that then tries to take itself seriously. It's got its funny moments and even makes the hackneyed "old lady saying salty things" entertaining, but just when you start to like a character, he or she does something shitty. The premise is that an elderly man calls together his adult children to discuss the disposition of the family fish cannery, and did I mention that they're dysfunctional in a cheesy, soap opera, "my sister, my daughter" way? It degenerates into a big histrionic scene that, despite all the screaming and hitting, was painfully boring.
I can think of many, many worse ways to waste your money,
but really, you don't need to put yourself through this. The scenery
isn't even that nice. Although I was pleased to see actual Icelanders
actually eating the terrifying foods I'd heard
about when I was there -- sheep heads and shark meat that's been "treated"
in a rather unique way -- and drinking Brennivin, a.k.a. "Black Death,"
which is surprisingly tasty (and clear).
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