''Virgin Mountain'' is a 2015

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Dagur Kári Dagur Kári (born Dagur Kári Pétursson; 12 December 1973) is an Icelandic film director. Early life and education He was born in Paris, France, to Icelandic parents. The family returned to Iceland when he was 3 years old. After attending loca ...

, starring Gunnar Jónsson and Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir. Its Icelandic title is ''Fúsi'' , the name of the lead character. The world premiere took place at the

65th Berlin International Film Festival The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the President of the Jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The ...

, where the film was screened on 9 February 2015 in the Berlinale Special program. It was released in Icelandic cinemas on 20 March 2015. The same year, it won the prizes for best narrative feature, actor, and screenplay at the ribeca Film Festival, and the

Nordic Council Film Prize The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The Nordisk Film & TV Fond is the funding body that administers the prize. History The first award was handed out in 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's ...

Plot

An Icelandic man in his 40s lives with his mother and works as ground staff at a nearby airport. He is involved in

miniature wargaming Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use ...

in his spare time. On his 42nd birthday Fúsi gets a break from his daily routines when he is enrolled in a dance class. He falls in love but his depressive girlfriend leaves him. He helps his ex-girlfriend to find happiness by turning a dump into a flower boutique shop. Fúsi, at the edge of falling back to his routines, decides to make changes for himself and takes a trip to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Cast

* Gunnar Jónsson as Fúsi * Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir as Sjöfn * Sigurjón Kjartansson as Mörður * Margrét Helga Jóhannsdóttir as Fjóla * Franziska Una Dagsdóttir as Hera * Arnar Jónsson as Rolf * Þórir Sæmundsson as Elvar

Reception

Stephen Dalton wrote in ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'': "Gunnar Jónsson is an unlikely leading man, but extremely watchable, his physical acting and weary voice conveys both inner torment and purity of heart. Kristjánsdóttir also radiates agreeably offbeat charm as Sjöfn, even if her hangdog angel character that aches for pity would be more at home in a country and western song than in contemporary Iceland. ... A lightweight portrait of a potentially heavy subject, Kári’s fourth feature is an effortlessly likeable addition to his body of work, but too sweet and gentle to leave much of a lasting impression."

References

External links

*
''Virgin Mountain'' on kinocritics.com
{{Iceland-film-stub Films about bipolar disorder 2015 drama films 2015 films Films directed by Dagur Kári Icelandic drama films 2010s Icelandic-language films