Devil's Island (1996)
Devil's Island is a bitter sweet tale of Iceland in the fifties. Life is rough in Reykjavik's post-war slum of Camp Thule, where the abandoned US military barracks have been turned into makeshift homes. Struggling wives and their hard-working husbands try to make ends meet. The younger generation dreams of dollars, Rock'n'Roll and the American way of life. To celebrate or to drown their misery - they're never short of a good reason to booze. Devil's Island vividly depicts the everyday life of a wacky family, their neighbours and friends and shows how some of their dreams come true and others don't.
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Truly the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater
Really Surprised!
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
I have to say that I was never a big fan of Icelandic movies.. I always thought the acting was kinda fake and I was never really that much into them. But one day I got the movie Djöflaeyjan and I was kinda reluctant to watch it but since I didn't have anything better to do I put it in and in a few moments I was caught in it... The part where Danni dies and you see the grandfathers eyes is the saddest and the best scene for me that involves death in a movie. You don't always have to see people falling down with grief and screaming.. his empty sad stare where you see his eyes full of tears is the best acting I have seen in a long time. I watched it again yesterday and it still is as good as the day I saw it first. I hope you give it a chance it really is worth it.
This movie is really good. At least it's better than the book although many people would disagree with me there. To enjoy this film more than some have been doing you'll have to know what situation the people are in. The movie is based on the Icelandic lives at that time. I think it's a great movie but not the best Icelandic movie i've seen.If I would see some film that is identical to this one from another country with another culture I would not enjoy it as much. For example if there were a movie about someone in Britain and I would not know the situation the people would be in I wouldn't understand the story in the film.I recommend to everybody who can read the book to read it before or after you see this film. In the book you can see the storyline much better and you'll know why this is a really good movie.
See this film. It is well-filmed, spoken in a funny language, and simply catches you from the beginning to the end. See how the American Dream is dreamt in a desolate place under different circumstances. All filming perspectives here are pieces of art.
Alright so I may be biased since I played "Dick" in the movie (2 lines, Woo Hoo!!) but I definitely liked it. Although the characters sometimes seemed like caricatures you have to remember that they were trying to distill an entire nation's attitudes down into a few people. The movie is not exactly uplifting but it is well done. The acting is quality and Fridrik Thor's directing is on par with his Oscar nominated "Children of Nature."