Aaron's Thoughts
I recognize how bizarre this is going to sound, but hear me out.
There is a scene in this film where a man is laying on the ground & a woman in a long flowy skirt stands over his head, which gives him a peak up her skirt. And it is possibly my favorite shot of the year so far. Sure the camera placement is creative, but I am more taken by how much Hlynur Palmason communicates through one brief moment. You could write a book about everything that is going on in each of their heads at that exact moment, yet he doesn't linger on it or dwell on what those thoughts and feelings may be.
The film itself is comprised of many small moments like this over the course of its quietly profound 109 minute run time. Beauty in the small moments of life isn't a new idea for the medium of cinema, but the way that this one does it against the backdrop of a major life change was moving. In some regards everything is changing for the characters and their dynamics, but at the same time there are pockets of time where nothing is changing. And while you are navigating all of that you are also dealing with dynamics between outside parties, work, and those dang feelings that bubble up in the most random moments. The whole thing is oddly comforting and Palmason finds way to sprinkle comedy throughout that never makes the film feel as heavy as the log line leads on.
It gets a bit too surreal that lost me in parts of the back half, but it ultimately doesn't change my feelings about the film and what is being communicated.
