Comments on: Quite possibly the most important Icelandic film ever made

By: Joerg

Joerg — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:25:43 +0000

Finally this is available in English (the interviews with English subtitles) on DVD. I bought a copy of it at Keflavík airport for a ridiculously low price (899 ISK) and just watched it. It’s really a must-see film. No idea if it can be bought or ordered from outside Iceland – but I urge everyone who has a chance to buy and watch this movie to do so.
When watching it, be aware though that clearly it IS propaganda. The pictures are clearly trying to play with your emotions – like the bird sitting in it’s nest on it’s eggs to warm them when the water comes etc. The film has a clear agenda and is clearly not presenting a neutral view of the issues. That’s ok – but I think it’s important to be aware of this fact.
Nonetheless this is an important film to watch to understand the catastrophe of the Kárahnúkar dam and similar projects.

@Alda: maybe the info that this is finally available in English is even worth a short article/info on your blog in a more prominent position than a comment to this very old blog-post?

By: April is the cruellest month / I will show you fear in a handful of dust (Eliot’s Wasteland) « PROPAGANDA OF THE REED

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:29:31 +0000

[...] the huge scale of the controversial project, and the opposition to it. A review of the film is at http://icelandweatherreport.com/2009/04/quite-possibly-the-most-important-icelandic-film-ever-made.h… Here is the link between these project loans, Iceland economy, and the recent economic crash, it [...]

By: Joao Rei

Joao Rei — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:43:12 +0000

Does anyone know where I can find an English subtitles file for this movie?

I think it’s a great movie btw.

By: gary aho

gary aho — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:39:51 +0000

I have written two short articles on Alcoa in Iceland: ‘Morris, Iceland and Alcoa,’ and ‘Morris, Iceland and Alcoa: An Update.’ Both appeared in the William Morris Society Newsletter, the first in Spring, 2006, the second in Winter 2009. In the second I praise Magnason’s wonderful book, Draumalandid, and I very pleased to hear about this movie.

By: Douglas Brotchie

Douglas Brotchie — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:31:16 +0000

Thanks for your excellent blog entry.
You amassed there a lot of useful and relevant information and in addition said a lot of things that I felt after seeing the film earlier this week, but hadn’t yet articulated.
The film is enormously powerful and basically unanswerable – which is presumably why the association of Friends of Aluminium Smelters in Iceland are so incensed …

By: Alexander E.

Alexander E. — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:24:42 +0000

Unfortunately Draumalandið probably won’t be available for general viewing in English for a while yet – I know the producers are planning to make the festival rounds and who knows when it will be available for purchase on DVD, for example.

Strange, very strange…
So producers are more concerned about their own publicity and revenew than about the idea?

Also their claim:
“the government started the largest mega project in the history of Iceland, …..
The mantra was economic growth. Today Iceland is left holding a huge dept and an uncertain future.”
is a false one.
Taking that into account – how much are their other claims worth?

By: Kath

Kath — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:38:54 +0000

The pillaging of the earth everywhere is just relentless. Really, very discouraging. Iceland seemed so wild and unspoiled when I was there last summer (2008), at least most of it. Obviously, I didn’t see the smelter, etc., although I’d read about it and all the controversy over it. Ironically, didn’t Lewis in that infamous Vanity Fair article (or maybe it was in an interview, can’t remember now) comment on how natural resources (including the fishing waters) would be the “price” Iceland would be expected to pay?

By: Draumalandið

Draumalandið — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:52:33 +0000

[...] wichtigsten isländischen Film, der je gedreht wurde”. Ihr Kommentar zu diesem Film ist hier zu [...]

By: alda

alda — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:59:06 +0000

Don – thank you, as ever, for your support!

Rozanne – I already have. Whether they decide to take me up on it is another story.

Joerg – hope you like it. A lot of it is heady stuff.

By: Joerg

Joerg — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:27:12 +0000

After reading this blog posting I ordered the book on Amazon and received it today.
I’m really looking forward to reading it . I hope the film can play and important part in making people in Iceland (and elsewhere) more aware of environmental issues linked to these big industry projects.