Nói Albinói

Is he the village idiot or a genius in disguise? Noi (17) drifts through life in a remote fjord in northern Iceland. In the winter, the fjord is completely cut off from the outside world, encircled by terrifying mountains under a thick layer of snow. Noi dreams of escaping from this white prison, together with Iris, a city girl who works at the local filling station. But Noi’s clumsy attempts to escape don’t get him anywhere, and only get out of hand. Maybe only an enormous natural disaster can destroy his world and, in this way, offer him a prospect of a better life…Connoisseurs have for some time regarded Dagur Kari as a great Icelandic film talent. With Nói Albinoi, he has certainly fulfilled his promise. The film makes beautiful use of the ambivalence of the natural surroundings: they may look beautiful to an outsider, but at the same time they are incredibly threatening. And with Noi, the director (along with actor Tómas Lemarquis) has created a convincing character who is not all that interested in nature. He dedicates himself with verve to his sad-comic stupidities, but certainly seems capable of greater deeds, in a different place and a different time, which only makes his dream of escaping with the girl from the filling station even more heart-rending.