Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Thu 24 Jan

Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson / Iceland / 2011 / 85 min

The recently finished Sundance Film Festival did show David Gordon Green’s remake Prince Avalanche, but tribute should be paid to its Icelandic original Either Way. The 2011 predecessor tempts with director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s home country’s natural beauty. This largely and undeservedly unknown feature debut satisfies a passion for travel in the comfort of local cinema.

One long summer Finnbogi (Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) and Alfred (Hilmar Guðjónsson) work as road painters, adorning yellow lines on seemingly endless country tarmac. While the older Finnbogi religiously writes letters to his girlfriend, youngster Alfred can’t wait to return to civilization and get laid. With nothing to do but talk, the odd couple discusses women, love and lust; a delicate topic as Finnbogi’s girlfriend is Alfred’s sister. But their problems follow them into the wilderness and with only each other and a bottle of home-brew for comfort they form an unlikely friendship.

The sparse landscape sets the stage for the excellently casted characters and their unobtrusive and funny dialogue. Striking wide shots place the men in the middle of the wilderness, putting their problems into perspective and constituting a comforting optimism. It’s the artful execution rather than the admittedly simple story that gives the film its charm, the lingering camera setting the rhythm of never ending summer days. It’s going to be difficult for Prince Avalanche to be better.