Foreldrar (2007)

A trio of middle-class and well-to-do Icelandic families strive for happiness against all odds in the sophomore collaboration between director Ragnar Bragason and the Vesturport acting troupe.

Oskar Sveinn (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson) is a kindhearted dentist married to fortysomething Erna (Jona Gudrun Jonsdottir). Though he is a loving stepfather to Erna's two sons, Oskar longs to father a child of his own with Erna despite the reluctant mother's claims that she is too old for another pregnancy.

Returning to Iceland after years abroad, Oskar's new receptionist, Katrin (Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir), finds her heartfelt attempts to reconnect with estranged 11-year-old son Baldur (Petur Rognvaldsson) consistently thwarted by her sharp-tongued mother (Lilja Guthrun Thorvaldsdottir), who isn't afraid to openly criticize her daughter's questionable parenting skills.

Lastly, stockbroker Einar Birgir (Vikingur Kristjansson) finds it increasingly difficult to accept the fact that his marriage to Halla (Thruthur Vilhjalmsdottir) has ended despite the fact that he has been living alone in a hotel for nearly two months.

Ragnar Bragason, who is an İcelandic director, follows Börn, which is the first film of a series. Actually we think that Börn and Foreldrar are different films, but it's not true, because these films are parts of one film. In the first one, Börn, was more active and boisterous, because it was the introductory chapter of the story. Nonetheless, Foreldrar is slower and shorter. It emphasizes leitmotif by more direct ways. It explains the family, which is the basic composition of society, and individual solitude. Foreldrar becomes an impressive movie with the director's attitude which dares to use classical narration like Godard's cinema and his method of approach to his characters similar to Mike Leigh's cinema. Finally, this movie's visual world which was created by Bragason and its dramatic dialogs are both perfect. The director has shot one of the best movies in recent years. It definitely deserves praise.

IMDB Reviewer

Note: This is the second part in a series of two. The first movie can be found here: Children / Börn (2006)