The cinematography is art, and the time spent dwelling on the scenes of Icelandic countryside and beautiful people are worth the time to soak them in. Nature rules in this late 1800s environment without the insulation of modern amenities. The central character finds himself out of place as a priest trying to bring godliness to this 'godforsaken land' (the real name of the film when translated properly).
Lucas the priest doesn't try very hard to ingratiate himself with the people. As they work to build his church he is sitting and writing. He roams around with his camera taking pictures of what he deems worthy but won't take the picture of a man to whom he owes all.
The last act of the movie was certainly surprising but I'm not sure it was earned. With just a bit more plot and character development this could have been a masterpiece, and there was certainly time for it in the 2.5 hour runtime.
Worth watching so I gave it a 7 but it's not always an easy watch with the glacial plot, for what plot there is, and the relatively unlikeable central character.
Lucas the priest doesn't try very hard to ingratiate himself with the people. As they work to build his church he is sitting and writing. He roams around with his camera taking pictures of what he deems worthy but won't take the picture of a man to whom he owes all.
The last act of the movie was certainly surprising but I'm not sure it was earned. With just a bit more plot and character development this could have been a masterpiece, and there was certainly time for it in the 2.5 hour runtime.
Worth watching so I gave it a 7 but it's not always an easy watch with the glacial plot, for what plot there is, and the relatively unlikeable central character.
