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Godland
Breathtakingly inventive and ambitious historical epic about a young Danish priest travelling to a remote Icelandic outpost to establish a church.
Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Overview
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest is sent to a remote Icelandic outpost to establish a church. Convinced of his purpose and fortitude, he travels via the most treacherous route to photograph the country’s stark beauty. It’s a dangerous crossing, guided by locals who disdain their Danish colonisers, and the deeper he goes, the more he strays from his mission and morality.
Shot with a sumptuous square image and soft rounded corners, Hlynur Pálmason captures exploding volcanoes, a decaying horse carcass and landscapes that shift from fecund to frosty. The result is part-travelogue, part-western, part-austere Nordic drama in the tradition of Bergman and Dreyer. Craggy Elliot Crossett Hove (Winter Brothers) mesmerises as the priest; an awkward, soft-bellied fellow, transformed by hardship into a steelier version of himself, who might not necessarily be a force for good.
moderate violence, sex references
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