Showing @ Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 21 & Sat 22 Feb
Benedikt Erlingsson / Iceland/Germany / 2013 / 81 mins
Benedikt Erlingsson’s debut film is full of humour as black as volcanic ash, but mixed with a generosity of spirit towards the community it portrays and their relationship with their small sturdy horses. Love affairs, rivalries and the search for strong drink play out against the bleak Icelandic landscape. The bond with these unique animals – part pet, part farm animal, part confidante – is beautifully handled and whilst the humans are flawed, Erlingsson allows these animals the more dignified roles.
An actor himself, the director pulls good performances out his cast, but his visual sense stands out. There are some extraordinary shots from an uncomfortable sexual encounter, to the sight of horse swimming towards a ship in the clear blue glacial waters and a scene bizarrely reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back. It’s easy to portray isolated cultures as simply quirky, but Erlingsson has a real tenderness for the society he portrays here. The film is full of ‘characters’, but none seem contrived. A unique drama that has been nominated for many awards in its native land Of Horses and Men is well worth catching, if not at the GFF, then when it’s released into the wild.