The curious parking techniques and fashion-forward outfits are just a few ways Iceland is sure to leave an impression on an outsider.
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Airline passengers who passed through Keflavík International Airport last month increased significantly compared to August 2009, by 11.7 percent. Last month, 274,600 people passed through the airport.
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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of a hike to Hraunsvatn lake in Öxnadalur valley in north Iceland, which lies at a height of 490 meters, interlocked between two steep mountains and a small glacier with a view of the majestic Hraundrangar peaks.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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super 8 film
Welcome to Iceland Review Online's review section. Guest contributors and staff writers will provide you with a new review every Monday about a current art exhibition, a new Icelandic film, an album recently released by an Icelandic band or a new Icelandic novel likely to be published abroad. Please email any comments you might have to the web editor: eyglo@icelandreview.com.
Review by Alana Odegard.
I hadn’t heard too much about the film Future of Hope before I attended the premiere last week. I assumed it was about the banking crisis, but then a friend told me she thought it was about preserving the country’s natural resources.
As it turns out, we were both right.
Future of Hope is a film about sustainability not only in the way it applies to the environment, but also about how it relates to the economy.
As stated on the official website, the film is a “character driven documentary following individuals that strive to change the world of consumerism, a system of credit and debt that the Icelandic economy was built upon for the past 10 years or more.”
An entertaining animated introduction takes the viewer through the history of Iceland, right up to the present day. Among the subjects addressed in the film are becoming hot topics these days: consumerism, sustainability, going organic and the need for renewable resources.
These are all discussed within the framework of Iceland in the sense that the film delves into how Iceland can be thought of as a model or “test” for the rest of the world in terms of how to make changes away from consumerism (learning when enough if enough) and towards a new way of thinking and acting.
Icelandic academics, activists and politicians are among those interviewed, including former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and current Minister of Education and Culture Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
A few Icelandic start-up companies are also profiled, as well as the intriguing House of Ideas. The bottom line: this crisis can be the mother of innovation.
There was a lot of talk in Future of Hope about how now more than ever Icelanders need to return to the core values they had turned away from in the years leading up to the crash as well as the need to protect the country which has been passed down to Icelanders from their forefathers.
There is a message present within the film that wavers between nationalism and the idea that we are all members of the same global community. Frankly, at times I was left feeling confused.
Am I supposed to be thinking locally or globally? Some people in the film said we should act locally and think globally, others championed the idea of a global village and there was also talk of the importance of local communities.
I’m not saying that these two ideas are mutually exclusive (nor do I think the film was saying that either), but at least for me, these concepts were a little fuzzy. What was intended to be specific to Iceland versus what applies to the rest of the world was at times lost on me.
Parts of the film were unmistakably Icelandic, such as the interview with an Icelandic entrepreneur who opened a restaurant and spa, taking a loan from the bank for ISK 70 million (USD 596,000, EUR 462,000), if my memory serves me correctly, to do so.
His business was successful and he had paid back ISK 30 million of his loan before the crash, but now, post-crash, he owes more than ISK one hundred million because of indexation.
He explained that with no help whatsoever from the bank, he was paying back what he could, but that he may just stop paying the bank all together.
Looking into the camera, he gave the bank a “good natured” middle finger and the cinema, which was packed on opening night, erupted into applause. Clearly people welcome the idea of taking matters into their own hands.
Indeed, the film also touched upon the importance of democracy and critical thinking.
Something else worth mentioning is that the documentary is almost entirely in English, meaning the Icelanders who make up the majority of the interviewees all speak in English (rather than answer in Icelandic with English subtitles, as is usually the case).
This language choice really conveys the feeling that the movie is trying to spread its message beyond the borders of Iceland.
However, they may want to consider adding English subtitles before its international release because the Icelandic accent of some of the people interviewed makes their English difficult to understand at times.
The idea that Future of Hope is an Icelandic film with worldwide aspirations is reinforced by the fact that it is directed and filmed by Henry Bateman, a non-Icelander.
Upon leaving the theater I overheard a conversation in Icelandic between two men who had just seen the film.
One of them was telling the other that he thought the film was great and was flabbergasted by the fact a foreigner had made it. “This is something we should have been doing,” he said.
I couldn’t help but think that this film does mark a turning point in Iceland. For so long there was a pulsating anger that could be felt within the country because of the financial collapse: anger towards the banksters, the government, the recession and the situation in general.
What I took to be the resounding message of the film is that the crisis will ultimately strengthen the country, that Icelanders are entering a new healing phase of rebirth and that the nation needs to stay positive and learn a valuable lesson from the past in order to move forward.
Let’s hope so.
The five stages of grief you often hear about came to mind, the last of which is acceptance.
Apparently it’s during the last stage that people begin to come to terms with their mortality and I think it makes perfect sense that hope often goes hand in hand with acceptance.
This is not a film about the lead-up to and cause of the collapse, but rather what people are doing now and, as the aptly-named title suggests, what they are hoping for and doing to shape the future.
It does get a little repetitive at the end but complete with spectacular shots of the Icelandic landscape, Future of Hope is worth seeing.
As of September 3, Future of Hope will be released for a minimum of two weeks at the Háskólabíó cinema in Reykjavík and from September 10, it will be screened at cinemas in Akureyri and Seydisfjördur.
Alana Odegard – odegard_a@hotmail.com
Ready and willing to watch anything that comes her way, Alana has a love for all things film. Having studied it as part of her B.A. degree, Alana’s keeping her fingers crossed that one fine day her passion for the silver screen will carry over from pastime to day-job.
moreReview by Alana Odegard.
If you take anything away from this review, let it be this: You must read this book.
Now with that out of the way, let me explain a little bit more about this important must-read. Living Inside the Meltdown is a collection of interviews with “regular people” talking about their experiences relating to the Icelandic banking collapse of 2008 and the recession that has followed.
The interviews were taken from January to March 2010, making this book about as up-to- date and relevant as it gets. The book was written by Alda Sigmundsdóttir, author of the renowned blog The Iceland Weather Report, after she was commissioned to write an article about the effects of the meltdown on regular Icelanders.
In her introduction, Sigmundsdóttir explains that the interviews are “a snapshot in time,” and after reading the book, I couldn’t agree more.
The crash in Iceland has made the news across the world, but unless you or someone you know has been living here, it’s hard to wrap your mind around the extent of the fallout. Much of the coverage has been on the handful of corrupt Big Bad Banksters, and all of the asinine things they were getting up to (and away with) in the years leading up to the collapse.
Living Inside the Meltdown tells the stories of the “everyday people” who have had to pick up the pieces since October 2008, putting a human face to the headlines.
The book is made up of eight chapters, each featuring a different interview with people from varied backgrounds, providing a multifaceted account of the effects the crash has had on Icelanders.
Because this book is so very much about their personal stories, I feel it’s only appropriate to “introduce” the interviewees in order to give you an idea of everyone you’ll be hearing from.
The interviewees include:
Atli Steinn, a 35-year old student from Reykjavík who was debt free before the collapse, but whose house is now up for foreclosure.
Harpa, a 36 year-old woman who was studying in the UK at the time of the crash and found herself and her young son suddenly financially stranded, unable to access her funds when all banking transactions were frozen in the days following the collapse.
Haraldur, a 44 year-old police officer who was on-duty during the protests outside of the Icelandic parliament building in January 2009.
Gerdur and her husband Saul, both of whom moved back to Iceland from Nicaragua in 2009, after the collapse of the Icelandic government, to find a changed country from the one they had left in 2007.
Nuna and Jorge, two Portuguese men working and living in Iceland who discuss the changes they have seen within Iceland and its countrymen, pre and post-kreppa.
Tryggvi, a 75 year-old man who doesn’t hold back when speaking about what he calls the most serious thing to happen in his lifetime.
Sigrídur, the owner of a small business, who’s noticed a change in attitudes since the fall of 2008.
I am reluctant to say this is an easy read because although I was completely captivated by these people’s stories, unable to tear myself away from the text, it was an emotional and at times a very difficult experience.
Any breaks I took were to calm my breathing and overcome the ill feeling in the pit of my stomach because to read this book is to ride the proverbial emotional rollercoaster. My heart ached, my blood boiled, my eyes welled, and at times my arms were covered in goosebumps.
If you are currently living through the recession (this goes for people anywhere in the world, but in particular, in Iceland), you will be able to share in the common experience of these people’s stories.
If you want to learn more about what’s been going on here, then this is the book for you. Even if you’re on “economic crash” overload, this book goes beyond what we’ve all been hearing, the openness and honesty of the interviewees will give anyone, Icelandic or otherwise, a firsthand account of what’s been going on here.
Personally, I happened to be living in Reykjavík during the collapse and the interviews brought back things I had already forgotten about (or had perhaps suppressed).
The accounts managed to capture the tone and atmosphere here so well, that when I was reading them, many things came flooding back. For example, while reading Haraldur’s recollections of the protests (he was a police officer called into the protests), I suddenly found myself reminded of the fact that I could smell the smoke all the way to my apartment from the pallets that were being burned downtown.
I had also forgotten about that feeling of sheer and utter panic when my husband and I attempted to log on to our online banking account only to find that the transferring of all funds was prohibited.
The point is that I was here and experienced the meltdown very up close and personal, and if I’m already beginning to forget the details, it just goes to show how valuable the interviews in this book are.
Living Inside the Meltdown is unique for many reasons, one of which being that it’s an e-book. Until reading it, I was an e-book virgin. I had my doubts about whether I would like reading a book on my computer, but considering most of the reading we do is accessed through our computers (news, correspondence, entertainment, recipes) turning to our screen for books is just the next step.
I was also pleasantly surprised to find the experience somewhat “interactive,” as Sigmundsdóttir provides a few links to further information embedded right in the text which was both informative and interesting.
Being an e-book also means that there’s no need to wait for shipping. With a few clicks you can “get your hands on it” right away and begin reading it today, something I recommend you do.
The book isn’t a collection of rants, nor is it an all out sob-fest, but rather gives accounts on the same topic, the collapse, each with its own story and insight.
In fact, as down and out as some people are, many touch on the sense of hope they have for the future. This may be due to the fact that they’ve had some time to digest what’s happened, even accepted that some of what’s occurred is out of their control, allowing them to not only look back, but begin to look forward as well.
So, if it sounds like I’m really pushing you to read this book, it’s because I am. These interviews are a part of this country’s history and I’m glad that Sigmundsdóttir is making them available for the world to read.
Living Inside the Meltdown is available on Sigmundsdóttir’s blog.
Alana Odegard – odegard_a@hotmail.com
Alana, who usually writes film reviews for Iceland Review Online, is covering for Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book Puffins as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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There can’t be many novels that are heralded as being “a purification for body and soul” recommended to “those who enjoy experimental cookery” (review of November Rain in DV newspaper) and “as beautiful as a painting from the golden age” (review of The Offspring by Danish newspaper Politiken). However, Reykjavík based writer, Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, has attracted such attention not to mention literary prizes.
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Have a laugh this week by visiting Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, where the exhibition “Humor in Icelandic Art” is currently running. The exhibition consists of works by contemporary Icelandic artists from different generations which deal with humor and irony.
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