User:Þjarkur/Heartstone (film)

Heartstone
Hjartasteinn
Directed byGuðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Written byGuðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
CinematographySturla Brandt Gøvlen
Edited by
  • Janus Billeskov Jansen
  • Anne Østerud
Release dates
  • 1 September 2016 (2016-09-01) (Venice)
  • 28 December 2016 (2016-12-28) (Iceland)
Running time
129 minutes
CountryIceland
LanguageIcelandic

Heartstone (Hjartasteinn) is a 2016 Icelandic drama film directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson.[1] It tells the story of a strong friendship between two young teenage boys in a small Icelandic fishing village and the emotional and sexual turbulence of adolescence.[2]

It was screened in the Discovery section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] On 9 September 2016, the film won the Queer Lion at the 73rd Venice Film Festival.[4] It was the first Icelandic film to be shown in a competitive section of the Venice Film Festival.[5] It was also nominated for the 2017 Nordic Council Film Prize[6] and won the 2017 Icelandic Edda Awards.[7]

Plot

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The film covers a single summer in the life of Thor and Christian, two young teenagers who best friends.[8] They live in a small, unidentified Icelandic fishing village, probably set in the early 2000s.[9] Christian appears somewhat older than Thor.[9] Their two female friends, Beth and Hannah, flirt with them.[9] First steps in sexual ___,[9] Christian is a homosexual who has not admitted it to anyone, and only indirectly admitted it to Thor.[9]

Discusses the small town dynamic of social repression.[9] Social rejection of homosexuality.[9]

The domestic situation of the boys is bad, Christian's father is a drunk who beats him.[9] Thor is raised by a single mother who is crushed by the [9]


[10][9]

Cast

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  • Baldur Einarsson as Þór / Thor
  • Blær Hinriksson as Kristján / Christian
  • Diljá Valsdóttir as Beta / Beth
  • Katla Njálsdóttir as Hanna / Hannah
  • Jónína Þórdís Karlsdóttir as Rakel
  • Rán Ragnarsdóttir as Hafdís
  • Søren Malling as Sven
  • Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir as Hulda
  • Gunnar Jónsson as Ásgeir
  • Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson as Sigurður

Production

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The film is Guðmundur's first feature length film and he began working on the script in 2006.[8] It was shot in the fall of 2015, mainly in Borgarfjörður eystri but also Seyðisfjörður, Vopnafjörður, and Dyrhólaey.[11][12]

Reception

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The film was well received in Iceland[8] and won the 2017 Icelandic Edda Awards.[7] The script, dialogue, and the directing of young actors received praised.[8]

Its main strength was the cinematography, which amplified Icelandic nature, with long shots of coastlines and fjords.[8][9]

Being over 2 hours long, it was considered too long.[2][9]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6.97/10.[13] On Metacritic, which assigns normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Heartstone by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson wins an award in the Netherlands". Icelandic Film Centre. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b Rooney, David. "Heartstone – Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Heartstone". Toronto International Film Festival. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 14 September 2016 suggested (help)
  4. ^ Boni, Federico (11 September 2016). "Venezia 2016, i film in gara per il Queer Lion – Leone LGBT della Mostra". Cineblog. Blogo. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Heartstone becomes first Icelandic film to compete in Venice". Icelandic Film Centre. 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  6. ^ Pham, Annika (22 August 2017). "Five Nordic Films Nominated for Nordic Council Film Prize 2017". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Hjartasteinn sigurvegari kvöldsins". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b c d e Brynja Hjálmsdóttir (14 January 2016). "Ber er hver að baki" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. p. 46 – via Klapptré.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Björn Þór Vilhjálmsson (1 February 2017). "Skynheild ímyndarinnar". Hugrás (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Eiríkur Guðmundsson (18 January 2017). "Saga sögð af miklu næmi". Lestin (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Hjartasteinn fékk þrenn verðlaun í Varsjá". Vísir.is. Retrieved 7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Ásta Hlín Magnúsdóttir (26 July 2016). "Kvikmynd tekin upp á Borgarfirði keppir um verðlaun á stórri hátíð". Austurfrétt.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Heartstone (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Heartstone Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
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