Iceland in winter is dark and cold. People start to drink a lot and do strange stuff, even if they happen to be on a trip to Florida: Iceland is still in their hearts and bones. I started to care deeply for the characters – and that’s the best thing one can say about a movie.
VONARSTRÆTI is a street in Reykjavik, and it is the target of investment sharks like ex-football-player Sölvi (Þorvaldur Davíð), who wants to become a big player in his bank. Unluckily the drunkard author Móri (Þorsteinn Bachmann) lives on this street and won’t leave, he’s just sold his book LIFE IN A FISHBOWL … and he can’t be reached anyhow, he has no mobile and he’s more often than not at the house of young kindergarten teacher Eik (Hera Hilmarsdóttir), who has a shady second life … which she shares with Sölvi. There’s a dark reason behind Eik’s selling her body, and when she gets very attached to Móri, both their lives seem to fall apart … This film is hard to stomach at times – as cold and dark as Iceland in winter. But it is worth the effort. If only to hear Gigliola Cinquetti’s European song contest classic “Non ho l’etá” (I’m not old enough) sung in Icelandish. And to witness a happy ending for everybody involved. As happy as it gets.
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