The 30 Best Icelandic Movies You Should Watch

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Icelandic Movies

1. The Swan (2017)

Director: Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir

The coming-of-age drama “The Swan” is as stunning and terrible as the isolated, rural setting of northwest Iceland where it is set. Within its ostensibly familiar structure, Asa Helga Hjorleifsdottir’s first motion picture exposes several intriguing inconsistencies. “The Swan,” which is based on the Gudbergur Bergsson novel, follows the journey of a nine-year-old girl whose parents send her to spend the summer living with relatives in a place that is completely different from all she is used to. Theoretically, this will be a nurturing experience, a chance to develop, grow, and learn the lessons of life. – Icelandic Movies

2. Eleven Men Out (2005)

Director: Róbert I. Douglas

When the star player of Iceland’s best football team comes out to his teammates, he creates a stir before embarking on a quest to learn more about himself with the aid of the local press.

He quickly discovers that he will be sitting on the bench for the most of his team’s games and decides to hang up his boots in favor of joining a small amateur squad made up of men who share his sexual orientation and are trying to play football in the macho world of Icelandic fishing culture.The top player for the Icelandic football team KR is Ottar Thor.

He is a popular player who causes a sensation when he comes out to his teammates before embarking on a quest to learn more about himself with the aid of the neighborhood press. He quickly realizes that he would be sitting on the sidelines for the majority of his team’s games and decides to leave KR. He joins a small amateur squad that is primarily comprised of men who are gay and trying to play soccer in a heterosexual environment. – Icelandic Movies

3. The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2008)

Director: Olaf de Fleur Johannesson

A trans lady from the Philippines named Raquela longs to leave the grimy slums of Cebu City and live the life of a fairy tale in Paris. She switches from prostitution to the more lucrative industry of Internet porn to fulfill her goals. As a result of her popularity as a porn star, she makes new friends like Icelandic trans woman Valerie and Michael, the proprietor of the website Raquela works for. Raquela is helped by Valerie to reach Iceland. Michael offers her a meeting in Paris after that. Will Paris live up to her expectations Will Michael ultimately prove to be her true love. – Icelandic Movies

4. Devil’s Island (1996)

Director: Friðrik Þór Friðriksson

Following World War II, Reykjavik is the setting for Djoflaeyjan. The occupying army from the United States and Britain abandoned their bunkers. Hundreds of lower-class persons who were moving into the capital during those years made them their homes. In those trying times, Djoflaeyjan describes the struggle and frequently hilarious existence of the individuals who lived in the bunkers. – Icelandic Movies

5. Of Horses and Men (2013)

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

While Grána is fixated on the stallion Brnn and mare Grána is in love with Kolbeinn, who is in love with Solveig and Solveig with Solveig, respectively. The entire neighborhood is paying attention to the story as spring approaches.

There can be no happy ending to this. Both Jarpur the horse and Vernhardur, his master, are in love with vodka. Gengis, a companion on a Russian trawler, doesn’t drink vodka but adores horses like Jarpur. It won’t go well in the end. Egill admires barbed wire fences while Grimur is enamored with old horse routes. Egill owns a tractor, whereas Grimur has a horse and a set of pincers.

There can be no happy ending to this. Although Johanna adores her mare Raudka, Raudka is infatuated with freedom. A wounded elderly guy is lying on the grass near a vintage summer home. The situation might end well. In the Icelandic highlands, Juan Camillo is in search of God and loves life and nature, but Old Piebald the horse is worn out and needs to rest.

How will this pan out. All of this excitement comes to an end in the fall when the horses are corralled and the men and horses merge into one. The fall horse roundup unites theme, setting, items, time, and personalities into an ensemble piece. – Icelandic Movies

6. 101 Reykjavík (2000)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Hlynur, 30, still resides with his mother and survives off unemployment benefits while drinking, watching porn, and surfing the internet. He feels drawn to a girl, but he is hesitant to commit. For Christmas, Lola, the Spanish flamenco instructor of his mother, moves in with them.

While his mother is abroad on New Year’s Eve, Hlynur not only learns that Lola is a lesbian but also has sex with her. He quickly learns that he and his mother share more than just a home. He will eventually need to figure out his place in the picture and learn how to live a less self-centered being. – Icelandic Movies

7. Noi the Albino (2003)

Director: Dagur Kári

Is he the local moron or a ruse genius.Noi, a 17-year-old boy, floats through life in a desolate Icelandic fjord. The fjord is isolated from the outer world in the winter, encircled by foreboding mountains, and covered in a blanket of snow.

Noi fantasizes of breaking out of this jail with Iris, a city girl who works at the neighborhood gas station. His amateurish attempts to flee, however, completely fail and spiral out of control. Only a natural calamity will upend Noi’s world and provide him with a doorway into a more ideal one. – Icelandic Movies

8. The Sea (2002)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Thordur, a wealthy and elderly patriarch, gathers his dispersed heirs to talk about the prospects of the family fisheries. However, putting everyone together stirs up a whirlwind of sexual abuse that has been long suppressed, as well as lingering misgivings, sibling rivalry, and incestuous passions.

In the end, it’s a cold-blooded conflict between the present and the distant future that results in a night of exploding wrath. Thordur, a wealthy and elderly patriarch, gathers his dispersed heirs to talk about the future direction of the family fisheries.

However, putting everyone together stirs up a whirlwind of sexual abuse that has been long suppressed, as well as lingering misgivings, sibling rivalry, and incestuous passions. In the end, it’s a cold-blooded conflict between the present and the past that results in a night of exploding wrath. – Icelandic Movies

9. Under the Tree (2017)

Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson

Agnes kicks Atli out and forbids him from seeing their daughter Sa any longer. He moves in with his parents, who are embroiled in a contentious argument over their large, gorgeous tree, which shades the neighboring property’s deck.

The conflict with the neighbors worsens as Atli struggles for the right to visit his daughter: the property is damaged, pets inexplicably disappear, security cameras are placed, and there is a report that the neighbor was seen with a chainsaw. Guilty-as-sin Atli gives up his pride and returns to live with his retired parents, Inga and Baldvin, against the backdrop of an awful breakup.

Atli is in for yet another unpleasant surprise when he arrives at the location because his aged parents are embroiled in a violent argument with Konrad and Eybjorg’s neighbors over a tree that is shading their garden heavily: a majestic, high Platanus. Their once-happy suburban existence starts to spin out of control as Inga adamantly refuses to prune the tree. But violence breeds violence, and hatred is a disease. – Icelandic Movies

10. Rams (2015)

Director: Grímur Hákonarson

In a lush farming region tucked away in the majestic Icelandic wilds, distant brothers Kiddi and Gummi, the rowdy heavy drinker Kiddi and the quiet younger brother Gummi are constantly at battle. The extremely contagious scrapie disease then forces the warring brothers to put their frigid, decades-long feud on pause as it threatens both the survival of the close-knit community and all the cattle in the area, after forty long years of deep animosity. Now that a cull is inevitable, Kiddi and Gummi will have to work together to address the situation.

Gummi and Kiddi care for their sheep side by side in a remote valley in Iceland. The two brothers consistently receive awards for their coveted rams, which come from their prized sheep stock, which is among the best in the nation and has a long history. Even though Gummi and Kiddi live on the same territory and enjoy a similar way of life, they haven’t spoken in forty years.

The entire valley is in danger when Kiddi’s sheep suddenly contract a fatal sickness. To stop the outbreak, the authorities decide to kill every animal in the region. For the farmers, for whom the sheep are their primary source of income, this is a near-death sentence, and many of them give up their lands. – Icelandic Movies

11. Woman at War (2018)

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

Halla is a strong-willed woman in her fifties. She does, however, lead a double life as an ardent environmental activist under the scenes of a calm routine. Halla, who goes by the nickname “The Woman of the Mountain,” quietly fights the neighborhood’s aluminum industry alone. Halla succeeds in stopping a deal with the Icelandic government and the company developing a new material smelter in the mountains as her activities get more audacious, moving from minor vandalism to blatant industrial sabotage.

But just as she starts organizing her greatest and most audacious operation yet, she gets a surprise letter that upends everything. A young girl awaits her in Ukrainian after her adoption application was finally approved. Halla decides to plan one more attack to deliver the aluminum industry with a fatal blow as she is ready to give up her job as subversive and savior of the Mountains toto realize her ambition of becoming a mother.

One day, a long-forgotten request to adopt a Ukrainian orphan is granted. To catch her and discredit her, the government simultaneously intensifies its police and propaganda efforts. Her struggles to balance her risky and unlawful activity with the impending adoption are the central theme of the movie. The soundtrack for the movie features a three-piece band and traditional Ukrainian vocalists, who are constantly interacting with the story and characters. – Icelandic Movies

12. Lamb (2021)

Director: Valdimar Jóhannsson

Sad-eyed Mara and her taciturn husband, Ingvar, take refuge in the physically taxing work and demanding schedule at their sheep farm amid the isolated, harsh, wind-swept landscapes of highland Iceland. They are plagued by the indelible mark of loss and silent anguish.

Then, as their marriage is on the verge of failure, an unforeseen event occurs, and happiness suddenly returns to the couple’s depressing home. Ingvar’s unstable brother Pétur now shows up at the farmhouse, endangering Mara and Ingvar’s delicate, fresh pleasure as a sad ending gives life to a new beginning. But the gifts of nature need sacrifice. – Icelandic Movies

13. Operation Napoleon (2023)

Director: Óskar Thór Axelsson

After being indicted with a murder she didn’t commit, a lawyer becomes dragged into a global conspiracy. Finding the secret of a vintage German WWII airplane that has been found on Iceland’s greatest glacier is her only chance for survival. – Icelandic Movies

14. Beautiful Beings (2022)

Director: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

Balli, who is fourteen years old, is a bit of an outcast. He is harassed by his classmates and lives in a run-down home with his drug-addicted mother. A grandfather who “thought the gun wasn’t shot” left him with a glass eye.

However, Balli later befriends three boys his age, Addi, Konni, and Siggi, and their bond slowly grows. Balli discovers that he can communicate for the first time in his life, notably to Addi, whose mother believed in “the subconscious”. When Addi’s visions seem to imply that Balli’s cruel father is no longer acceptable, the boys resolve to take action even though Addi is battling his issues.

In his coming-of-age drama, Icelandic director Gumundur Arnar Gudmundsson finds beautiful pictures of a world characterized by hostility and violence. In it, he paints a picture of a group of young people who run the risk of breaking the gender-normative social norms that govern their peer group.

They hold on to one other with a grip that is both gentle and painful out of desperation. An adolescent boy who was bullied joins his gang of violent misfits. The youngster was reared by a mother who believes herself to be clairvoyant. The youngster has an inner voice awakening when the group’s problems become life-threatening, and with the aid of his mother and a new companion, he is able to forge his path. – Icelandic Movies

15. Heartstone (2016)

Director: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

A small fishing community in Iceland. Thor and Christian, two teenage males, go through a difficult summer as one seeks to win a girl’s heart while the other develops new affections for his closest friend. It’s time to grow up and leave the playground when summer is over and Iceland’s harsh nature reclaims its rights.

Young men Thor and Christian have a difficult summer in a fishing village in Iceland as one seeks to win the heart of a girl while the other develops new feelings for his closest friend. When the summer is over and Iceland’s harsh nature reclaims its dominance, it’s time to face maturity. – Icelandic Movies

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16. Metalhead (2013)

Director: Ragnar Bragason

Here, an eleven-year-old carefree girl, is not aware that a horrible catastrophe will soon deprive her of her last bit of happiness as she plays happily one August day in the isolated, vast countryside of rural Iceland. Because of this, She will rebel against God with unquenchable wrath, saturated by the vivid memories of her brother that pulses throughout the entire house.

As a result, estranged and suicidal, Hera will eventually drag herself into a meaningless, hopeless existence. Years later, still blaming God for the injustice and rejecting the local priest’s offers of reconciliation, the troubled adolescent will adopt her brother’s lifestyle and delve ever deeper into the uncharted and enthralling Black Metal new music movement, ultimately finding a new direction in life. – Icelandic Movies

17. Patient Seven (2016)

Director: Danny Draven

Dr. Marcus, a prominent psychiatrist, is the main character of the movie. He has chosen six seriously mentally ill and dangerous people from the Spring Valley State Mental Center to interview for his upcoming book. Each patient’s horrific crimes are revealed one by one as Dr. Marcus interviews with them. But Dr. Marcus quickly discovers that there exists one patient who connects them all. – Icelandic Movies

18. A White, White Day (2019)

Director: Hlynur Pálmason

Following the heartbreaking loss of his beloved wife, lonely widowed Ingimundur Ingvar Sigurdsson takes a belated effort to piece together some sort of a life. He takes some time off from his duties as police chief since he is unable to face his heartbreak head-on.

He unwillingly works with a therapist, and devotes his powerful energy to his beloved granddaughter Salka, and to building a new house for her and his difficult daughter out of a farmstead.

He discovers a discovery while sorting through his late wife’s stuff that sets off an avalanche of sadness that has the potential to ruin his reputation and the connections he spent a lifetime cultivating.An off-duty police chief in a small Icelandic town starts to suspect a local guy of having an affair with his spouse, who recently passed away in a car accident.

His fixation with learning the truth grows over time and inevitably puts him and his loved ones in danger. A tale of sorrow, retaliation, and unwavering love. – Icelandic Movies

19. Fiasco (2000)

Director: Ragnar Bragason

An elderly retiree named Karl is occupied pursuing an old movie legend who has lost his memory. Julia, Karl’s granddaughter, is caught between a mediocre bank manager and a reckless sailor. She tells them both that she is pregnant, but is she pregnant.

The pastor that Steingerdur, Julia’s mother, has a mad infatuation and ends up with a dead stripper in his jacuzzi who has a terrible drinking problem. As the movie goes on, the individuals cross paths until the three interconnected strands of the plot ultimately come together in a shocking and hilarious crescendo. – Icelandic Movies

20. I Remember You (2017)

Director: Óskar Thór Axelsson

A new doctor learns that an elderly woman who hanged herself in a church was preoccupied with the loss of his eight-year-old kid who vanished three years prior. Three city inhabitants are renovating a home when they become aware that it is haunted. – Icelandic Movies

21. The Oath (2016)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Finnur, a surgeon, is concerned about Anna, his oldest daughter. Finnur learns that Anna has a drug history and that her boyfriend, Tar, is a drug dealer. Finnur makes an effort to end the connection since he believes he is a harmful influence on Anna.

However, neither Anna nor Ttar have any desire to do so, and Ttar starts to act threateningly as a result of Finnur’s intrusions into their personal lives. Halldór, Finnur’s coworker, shows him a shooting victim, and Finnur immediately begins to make plans for that to vanish. – Icelandic Movies

22. Summerlight… and Then Comes the Night (2022)

Director: Elfar Adalsteins

The Village is full of tales, and if you listen closely, it could share some of them with you: tales of the Manager who dreams in Latin and gives up his job for astronomy and old books, tales of a translucent lad who carves moorland birds, tales of an outdoor wedding, and tales of a rock that is chiseled to dust. based on the well-known Icelandic novelist Jon Kalman Stefansson’s book of the same name. – Icelandic Movies

23. Wild Game (2023)

Director: Elsa Maria Jakobsdóttir

Seven buddies choose to participate in a risky game at a dinner gathering in Vesturbaer. To demonstrate that none of them have anything to conceal, they place their phones on the table and agree to let the party know about any incoming calls and messages. – Icelandic Movies

24. Virgin Mountain (2015)

Director: Dagur Kári

His daily activities consist of the same routine. His old bachelor ways will change when the energetic Sjöfn and the youthful neighbor Hera emerge. A 40-year-old Icelandic man who works as ground staff at a neighboring airport lives with his mother. In his free time, he plays miniature wargames.

Fsi, who turns 42 this year, is given a respite from his regular schedule when he enrolls in a dancing class. Although his depressed lover leaves him, he falls in love.

He transforms a run-down building into a floral boutique shop to assist his ex-girlfriend in finding happiness. Fsi chooses to make changes for himself and makes a trip to Egypt as he is on the verge of slipping back into his patterns. He then slowly grins. – Icelandic Movies

25. The Deep (2012)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Baltasar Kormákur’s “The Word Deep” faithfully reenacts the maritime tragedy of the aging vessel Breki when it capsized on March 11, 1984, near Westman Island, in the notoriously choppy waters of the unforgiving North Atlantic, about the true-life survival tales and incredible feat of the Icelandic fisherman, Gulaugur “Gulli” Friórsson. Gulli, a jovial, overweight,

And unassuming member of a tiny crew of six men, musters the will to battle the all-powerful forces of nature by swimming back to land for six hours through icy, dangerous waters. But how on earth did he avoid suffering from serious hypothermia. Was it the result of unwavering resolve, pure luck, or an inexplicable mystery. – Icelandic Movies

26. Cop Secret (2021)

Director: Hannes Þór Halldórsson

The hardest police officer in Iceland will do all it takes to solve a series of brutal bank robberies. The rigors of cracking the case, however, prove too much for the tough-as-nails renegade when he is forced to take on a new partner. While looking into a run of bank robberies when nothing appears to have been taken, a tough “supercop” who is in denial about his sexuality falls in love with his new partner. – Icelandic Movies

27. Jar City (2006)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Several tales develop at various points in time: In the past, a young girl named Audur, the only child of a single mother named Kolbrun, is buried; in the present, a second young girl, loved by both her parents, passes away; her 31-year-old father, Orm, searches for a way to explain how this genetic disease entered his family; two children discover the body of an elderly neighbor named Old Holberg.

who was murdered in his filthy apartment with filth on the computer and a filthy smell and A uncommon genetic condition caused the death of rn’s daughter. Erlendur now needs to track down Holdeberg’s murderer. – Icelandic Movies

28. Life in a Fishbowl (2014)

Director: Baldvin Zophoníasson

follows the lives of three extremely different people whose interactions have unexpected effects on one another. A good-hearted young mother who is trying to make ends meet has decided to support her daughter with a dark and degrading vocation; a pointless trap drinker uses alcohol to forget his terrible past; and a success-driven businessman wrestles with the ethics of corporate deception.

To better themselves and those around them, they must accept the decisions they’ve made in the past and the present. Three stories are about three individuals who have a significant impact on one another. A young author with a flourishing profession finds himself in a tumultuous marriage. – Icelandic Movies

29. And Breathe Normally (2018)

Director: Isold Uggadottir

While being imprisoned in unexpected circumstances, the lives of two ladies will cross. A fragile friendship will develop between an impoverished Icelandic mother and a Guinea-Bissau asylum seeker as they work to put their lives back on track. – Icelandic Movies

30. Driving Mum (2022)

Director: Hilmar Oddsson

Because of his mother’s passing, Jon is forced to carry her body on a trip to carry out her final request. When Bresnef the dog joins them, this vacation will impact Jon’s life in ways he never could have imagined. – Icelandic Movies

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