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Children of Nature Movie Review

Children of Nature (Born Natturunnar) is a 1991 Icelandic drama film directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and starring Gisli Halldorsson. It’s one of the best hidden gems out there.

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“You were never close to the city“

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A retired farmer moves to Reykjavik, Iceland, to live with his grown daughter and her family. When those living arrangements don’t work out, he winds up in a retirement home, where he reconnects with an old friend from his childhood. Quickly growing tired of life at the home, Thorgeir, accompanied by Stella, takes off in a stolen jeep so that they can spend some time alone and visit their rural hometown.

That’s the premise behind this absolutely magical movie. It somewhat reminded me of another masterpiece, Spain’s ‘Wrinkles’, but at the end of the day both films are their own unique thing. Children of Nature is amazing because it is never overly melodramatic nor is it emotionally manipulative, which is something most films about old people strive to do. This one, however, is more melancholic than anything else, plus it also has a strong sense of nostalgia and rekindled joy and revitalized energy in it that I found undeniably inspirational.

The direction from Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is spectacular as the movie flows beautifully and you sense a strong, confident directorial flair from every corner. Unlike the majority of movies made these days, this lyrical masterpiece is only around eighty minutes long. That concise runtime made for a truly perfect cinematic piece that wastes no time on trivial plot points, but still is meditative in its slow pace and emotionally rewarding and even epic in tone and scope.

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I loved both of the main characters. Well, Thorgeir is clearly the protagonist and his arc is the most important one, but Stella’s story is also something special. The two have such a sweet dynamic and all of their scenes are very cute. You can sense the pain and nostalgia in him while her reminiscing about her former life in the country was immensely touching. That entire section is one of cinema’s greatest scenes. The way the camera captured the movement and the passage of time was simply incredible and the cuts here represent some of the most artistic editing that I have witnessed in my entire life. It is lyrical storytelling at its finest.

Children of Nature is beautifully titled as it is all about getting back to the country way of life and escaping the harshness of city life. The emotionally distant daughter showcases the cruel reality that older people are unfortunately usually forgotten as they age and it’s truly terrible to witness. The film is grounded in reality when it comes to portraying the difficulties of living your life past your prime, but it’s also very much magical in its own way.

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Yes, the movie incorporates magical realism in some sections and it was marvelous to behold. I adore magical realism and I want more of it in my movies, but here we see possibly one of the best utilizations of it. The naked lady on the shore was very memorable, but the pair’s car simply vanishing in thin air provided some genuinely unforgettable imagery.

The ending is highly memorable in its ambiguous nature and clear religious parallels to Jesus himself. It was a perfect way to finish the film. But the main reason why those magical scenes work so well lies in the cinematography and the score. The camera captures the otherworldly, barren and authentic Icelandic landscapes with so much melancholy, nostalgia and magic, resulting in a lot of spectacular imagery. But it is the score that is truly brilliant here. It is majestic, again otherworldly and incredibly gorgeous, leading to such an emotional, spiritual viewing experience.

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