Falcons

Fridriksson’s films trade on a seductive Nordic melancholy with mildly eccentric characters – often visiting strangers – expressively filmed in hair-tousling, open landscape conducting physical and metaphorical journeys circumscribed by the limited road system of his native Iceland. For his likeable but a little ramshackle latest film (and first in English), he introduces the world-weary figure of American ex-con, Simon (played with wry dignity by Keith Carradine) who, eventually partnered with independent-minded performance-artist falcon-fosterer and force-of-nature Dúa (Margret Vilhjálmsdottir), hightails it to Germany in a desperate Wenders-esque dash for freedom with her tamed falcon. Much is predictable (the bad cop/good cops that force them off the island, the plotting), trite (the falcon as a symbol of exploitable, untamed spirit) or incredible (the ease with which they barter their ship’s passage). However, it’s always watchable, nonetheless, not least for Harald Paalgard’s elegant wide-screen camerawork, the contrasted performances of the leads and Fridriksson’s quirky observational insights and affectionate use of location.