GODLAND

Directing: B-
Acting: B
Writing: B-
Cinematography: B+
Editing: B-

I learned some new things about Iceland after watching Godland, a film about a Danish priest who travels across late-19th-century Iceland toward a settlement where he intends to build a church. According to one of the characters, another native of Denmark, no trees grow in Iceland. The winters are too harsh. Apparently this isn’t quite true, at least not currently. Possibly these settlers made this assumption of the island based on where their settlement was.

Often a movie like Godland is a bit of a struggle for those of us with no working knowledge of European history. Writer-director Hlynur Pálmason seems to assume some such knowledge among his audience, which makes sense given the languages spoken in the film are limited to Danish and Icelandic—quite pointedly so: we get the title card in both languages, in successive shots. This later proves relevant, as the priest, Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), speaks Danish but does not know Icelandic, and is paired with an Icelandic-speaking guide, Ragnar (Ingvar Sigurðsson), who leads him across the island. In the comparatively sparse moments of actual dialogue, their language barrier is a regular challenge.

I did not know, however, until checking Wikipedia after I got home that, at the time this film is set, Iceland was a Danish territory. with whom Iceland apparently shares historic ties dating back centuries. Watching Godland, a non-Scandinavian might feel like they’re missing some historical context, as there are clear tensions between the principal Dane and the principal Icelander. Where these tensions comes from, exactly, are never clear. This film is very much a slow burn, but eventually people do pretty horrible things to each other. Before the worst of it, there is a moment when Lucas screams “you brainless swine!” at Ragnar, who we are meant to think does not understand him.

I have to admit, however, I was mystified by this. It occurs well after Lucas falls deliriously ill on his cross-island journey, and it is Ragnar who brings him to safety. You’d think Lucas might feel some level of guilt after this, but instead there is a scene in which Ragnar seems to express guilt, that comes out of nowhere. In short, I found it difficult to understand the actions and motivations of these characters.

In the opening titles, we are told that Godland is inspired by the true story of old photos found in a wooden box in Iceland, thought to be the earliest photo record of that landscape. It turns out that story itself is every bit as much a fiction as the film, underscoring the need never to take any “based on a true story” claims a face value. In any case, Lucas lugs his heavy, primitive camera equipment along with him, having his subjects sit completely still for a good ten seconds every time he takes a photo.

And, indeed, the visual appreciation for the Icelandic landscapes, of which a surprisingly diverse array is featured, is the most that Godland has going for it. For a film this slow, a 143-minute run time is a good half an hour too long, but at least it’s nearly always beautiful to look at. The characters go from damp sea shore to verdant hills to molten lava to a vast expanse of ice and snow, all of it gorgeous.

There’s something very odd about Elliott Crosset Hove as Lucas, though. He is stoic, yet always appears extraordinarily tightly wound, a look that defaults on a piercing stare that barely falls short of bug-eyed. He is one of the coldest parishioners ever seen on film.

In the second half of Godland, Lucas wakes up recovered from his sickness, in a house run by a man and his two daughters in the settlement of his destination. Locals already have construction of the church underway. Lucas seems to develop a connection with the eldest daughter, Anna (Vic Carmen Sonne), but as with virtually every relationship in this film, theirs never goes anywhere particularly concrete. This settlement is near the sea, so when Lucas is well enough to converse again, he is asked why he trekked across the island when he could have just sailed there—a logical question. Lucas responds that he wanted to photograph and get to know the land and the people. The head of this household, Carl (Jacob Lohmann), quite rightly points out there were hardly any people around to get to know. And besides, if there had been, Lucas missed them because he was ill. All of this just comes together as interconnected threads of character action in Godland that ultimately serves no purpose.

Godland is an immersive experience, I’ll give it that. And I have a distinct feeling that there are multiple layers of depth to the storytelling here that I just failed to grasp. I kind of enjoyed the nearly-square aspect ratio clearly meant to evoke the photographs Lucas is taking, but otherwise I found this film to have a curiously uninviting narrative, keeping at least a certain segment of its audience at a distinct remove. It may be that, even with subtitles, a lot simply gets lost in translation.

It’s hard to love a movie when you really don’t like the guy at the center of it.

Overall: B-