LUMI Reviews: The Love That Remains

The decision to watch Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s The Love That Remains in the last week of winter, seems to have been a perfect one. Set in the backdrop of post-industrialist Iceland, the film focuses on a family in transition, dealing with the separation of the parents over the course of a year.

Anna (played Saga Garðarsdóttir) and Maggi (played by Sverrir Gudnason) are the parents of three children, two sons Þorgils and Grímur (played by Þorgils and Grímur Hylnsson, who are also the actual sons of the director) and Ída (played by Ída Mellon Hlynsdóttir, the director's daughter). Maggi is away most of the time, working on a fishing trawler, struggling with the old guard that came before him. Anna balances being a parent with her struggling career as an environmental artist. The kids have total freedom of expression, cursing away the days, chatting amongst each other about sex and firing arrows at a genderless knight scarecrow they put together on a field. When they are all together, it truly feels like a family that has lived a life together. This is really sold by the bond of the two brothers, who verbally quip, physically wrestle and have serious discussions revolving around the sex life of their parents.

With stunning cinematography showcasing rural Iceland, a piano driven score that is reminiscent of the best moments of Greenwood’s Phantom Thread, and the frivolous nature of our two leads Anna and Maggi; the film on the surface seems to be a benign portrayal of separation. However, it is through moments of magical realism and artistic works of rust, steel and wood placed amongst beautiful greenery, that we begin to see the mirrored imagery of nature and human relationships at hand. An example of this magical realism being the ghost of a chicken killed by Maggi, returning ten times bigger to attack him on the living room sofa.This provides not only comedic relief for the audience, but gives us insight to the guilt he has been hiding from us.

A poignant depiction of a family in transition amongst an Iceland in transition. This comedic slice of life film will have you in tears of all kinds. With landscapes made for the big screen, I highly recommend making the trip to the QFT to see this film in a cinema.

Showing as part of our Visions of Europe season from the 20th-26th of March

Tickets can be purchased here: queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-on/The-Love-That-Remains