Mr. Bjarnfreðarson (2009)
Centers on Georg Bjarnfreðarson, an over-educated know-it-all who has just been released from jail after a ten year sentence for manslaughter, but is still a prisoner of his own past.
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Let's be honest: Many Icelandic movies are definitely "acquired taste", and are not of much interest to most people unless they're into Iceland.That is NOT the case with this movie. It's an awesome story, with incredible characters, and you don't need to know anything about Iceland or even be interested in Iceland to get it. It's based on a TV series, but I hadn't seen it before and didn't need to. I'm sure I probably missed some jokes, but it really wasn't a problem. I just read a description of the movie before reading it, which helped, but that's not even necessary. Also, the ending was great and really satisfying. As cliché as it sounds, this movie made me laugh and made me cry. I hope it gets sold in international markets because it's a really, really good standard bearer for Icelandic cinema. I don't often give out 10s, but this movie really deserved it.
Just watched this film last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, you should know that this movie is the fourth installment of an Icelandic TV series. The three preceding comedy series were called The Night Shift (Næturvaktin), The Day Shift (Dagvaktin), and The Prison Shift (Fangavaktin). Although I think this film could probably stand on its own, it would be far more rewarding if you watch it as the final chapter about these three amazing characters (Georg, Ólafur, & Daníel) which had been so vividly brought to life in the TV show. The film is generally less comedic than the TV shows were, but the character development is highly rewarding.