Film Archive

Niceland

Jed and Chloe are in their early twenties, in love – and mentally handicapped. When Jed accidentally causes the death of Chloe's cat, which she loves almost as much as Jed, Chloe retreats into silence and loses her will to live. Convinced that there must be something else in life to give it meaning, something that will help revive Chloe's spirit, Jed sets out to find it. Led to believe that a scrap-metal dealer, Max, knows the precious answer, Jed cautiously enters the eccentric world of this solitary man. Yet in spite of the bond of friendship that develops between them, Max remains tight-lipped – even after Chloe falls into a coma and Jed begs him to tell him the secret. All that Max reveals is the tragedy that haunts him and pushes him toward self-destruction. In a moment of raw catharsis, Jed realizes that he, he himself, knows what he's been looking for. Whispering the magic words to Max, Jed saves him from a greater tragedy. Now he must hurry to tell Chloe. But when he arrives at the hospital, her bed is empty...

Starring Gary Lewis (Billy Elliott, Gangs of New York) and Martin Compston (Sweet Sixteen) in the lead roles, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's intimate drama sensitively portrays the naïve yet uncompromising search of a handicapped young man for the purpose of life. The Icelandic director is known for his highly acclaimed films Cold Fever, Devil's Island and the OSCAR-nominated Children of Nature.

Fridrik Thór Fridriksson was born in 1954. Self-educated in filmmaking, he started making 16 mm short films while still at school. He ran the Icelandic University film club from 1974-1978 where he promoted popularized film classics and art films. He was also founder, editor and film critic of Iceland's first film magazine. Fridriksson was a driving force in establishing the Reykjavik Film Festival in 1978 and has been one of its leaders ever since. His films include: White Whales (1987), the OSCAR-nominted Children of Nature (1991), Cold Fever (1994), Movie Days (1994), Devil's Island (1996), Angels of the Universe (2000), On Top Down Under (2002), Falcons (2002), and Niceland (2004).
 

Genre Drama, Love Story
Category Feature Film Cinema
Year of Production 2004
Director Fridrik Thór Fridriksson
Screenplay Huldar Breidfjord
Director of Photography Morten Soborg
Editors Sigvaldi J. Karason, Anders Refn
Music by  Mugison
Production Design Arni Pall Johannsson
Producers Skúli Fr. Malmquist, Thor S. Sigurjonsson
Production Company Zik Zak Filmworks/Reykjavik, in co-production with Tradewind Pictures/Cologne, Nimbus Film/Hvidovre, Film & Music Entertainment/London
Principal Cast Martin Compston, Gary Lewis, Kerry Fox, Peter Capaldi, Shauna Macdonald, Gudrun Bjarnadottir, Timmy Lang, Gudrun Gisladottir
Casting Liora Reich
Special Effects Pétur Karlsson
Studio Shooting Grimsfilm/Kopavogur
Length 86 min, 2,509 m
Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85
Original Version English
Subtitled Versions English, French
Sound Technology Dolby Digital
Festival Screenings Karlovy Vary 2004 (In Competition), Ghent 2004, Pusan 2004, Seville 2004, Thessaloniki 2004
With backing from Eurimages, FilmFoerderung Hamburg, Filmstiftung NRW, Icelandic Film Centre, Nordic Film & TV Fund, The Danish Film Institute
German Distributor Magic Media Company Independent/Cologne

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