My First Experience with Subtitles was a Good One when I Watched the 2003 Movie Noi Albinoi

In my continuing effort to expand my movie watching, I decided to check out this foreign film (with subtitle's and all) and I found it to be pretty good. Note: the hardest thing about watching subtitles is the constant need to read the screen. It's sometimes hard to get into the film because instead of looking at the characters and happenings, you are trying to read. Perhaps I'm just not used to it!

Minor Plot Details
In a cold village in Iceland, Noi appears to be a very dumb and bad boy. He skips school, fails tests on purpose, and steals from a local store's slot machine. While his family and teachers see him as a rebel, I see him as a very smart, but depressed boy. He proves that by completing a Rubik cube in about a minute. Maybe he just doesn't like it there... who would want to live in a snowy land in the middle of nowhere? Noi's life starts to look up when he meets a new girl, Iris, at a local store. Now, not only does he want to leave this village, he wants Iris to come with him.

Actors
Tómas Lemarquis .... Nói ... This young teen looks like the cross between a rebel and a good guy, which is why he's good for the part. He really is both of these things, but you can tell the good guy is what he really wants to be.... he just wants to be somewhere else! He's an interesting looking actor and in some scenes I could see him being in American movies.

Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson .... Kiddi Beikon ... This is Noi's not so great father. He shows up sometimes, but overall seems to like he couldn't care less about his son. Listening to him talk, you can see why Noi's not happy where he's at.

Elín Hansdóttir .... Íris ... She is a pretty girl, so it's no wonder Noi falls for her soon as he sees her. However she too is a rebel and she has her guard up. You can tell that she too does not really like being in this cold village. I'm surprised to see this is her only movie listed.

Anna Friðriksdóttir .... Lína ... I assume this is Noi's grandmother. He lives with her and she's a nice, kooky, older lady. She wakes him by shooting a gun into the trees!

My Thoughts
They did a great job of making this Icelandic village look very cold and lonely all the time. The colors were dulled and bluish throughout. Although the shots of the scenery, mountains, and snowy cliffs were all gorgeous, it still looked just too cold for me! Maybe I'd fly by for a picture, but I wouldn't want to live there. There was only a little bit of music when Noi was walking or in between scenes so overall all you've got is the characters talking. When the subtle music did play, you could kind of feel what Noi was thinking or feeling at that moment. The beautiful shots combined with the music made for some very relaxing scenes and I was able to drift into the scenery from time to time.

Once again maybe I'm just not used to it, but I found the acting to be very subtle. The actors didn't show much feeling through their faces as I'm used to seeing in American movies. This did enhance the film for me as you never really knew how Noi or the other characters were feeling, you could only assume. Noi was strait-forward and didn't raise his voice or anything when he was saying his smart-butt comments. It was like he was purposely trying to get expelled! I think the actors lack of reactions for parts of the film made other parts, where they did show emotion, stand out even more so. Since they were basically "just living life" at the start, whenever you did see a smile in Noi's face you knew it was real.

The movie is a drama with some romance thrown in the mix. What I liked about this was that the romance wasn't over the top "can't live with out you" but was instead the cute kind of love that teens share. They just wanted to be with each other, and they both just wanted to be out of this dull and chilly place. Will they find love in the end? Will they find a better place? For that, you'll have to watch and see. I also found some humor in the film, but it was very subtle.

I enjoyed this film and wouldn't mind watching it again. It was cute, different than anything I've seen, and had a group of interesting actors to keep me paying attention. I was mostly surprised that I actually "got it" because I've never seen a foreign film and expected it to be over my head. I don't know if my husband would be willing to watch this, but I think I could convince him to give it a try because it was not boring, it was interesting, and it's just something you can't stop watching.

FYI: There is some swearing in the subtitles, so keep your kids away.

Enjoy!!