SYNOPSICS
Stóra planið (2008) is a English,Icelandic,Mandarin movie. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson has directed this movie. Pétur Jóhann Sigfússon,Ingvar Sigurdsson,Eggert Þorleifsson,Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2008. Stóra planið (2008) is considered one of the best Comedy movie in India and around the world.
As a young boy David witnessed a fatal car accident, causing the death of his younger brother. Since then he has sought comfort in a Chinese philosophy video called The Higher Force. To this day, the wisdom of the Higher Force is guiding David through life and despite him being a member of questionable gang of debt-collectors, David is certain that fate has something greater in store for him. Upon moving into a new building, David befriends the landlord, Harald, a lonely elementary school teacher, who senses the young man's insecurity and need for guidance. When Harald finds out that David is a member of a debt-collectors gang, Harald starts playing himself as a big crime lord, owning real estate all over town, employing dubious characters and receiving large shipments of illegal goods from abroad. David's low status amongst his debt-collector mates, who keep putting him down for being a coward, quickly changes once David starts feeding them information on Harald, the mysterious crime...
Stóra planið (2008) Trailers
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Stóra planið (2008) Reviews
Unusual, but great stuff
It's not every day that I see as unusual film as this here in Iceland. It's something guaranteed to be different for anyone who sees it. The pointlessness of being seems to be the core theme of this film based on a book by an Icelandic author. The acting is good, but what won me over was the characters. Petur Johann, our (in my opinion) most promising actor holds the film up with even tempo. All others do well - I especially liked Eggert Thorleifsson as the grumpy teacher but most of all, from the side characters Micheal Imperioli did a great job. He could have been too big for this film but he manages to fall with the Icelandic cast. And of course I have to mention Stefan Schaefer as the adorable Wolfi. The editing, filming was good, a little to gritty at times, but kept a nice overall look, and locations were great. Almost no nature shot, which is was Icelandic films often thrive on. Unusual, but great stuff.
Lovely film
I like this film very much. I had no expectations because Icelandic films are not that good or great. It's a good comedy but the drama in it is kinda a weird, but I somehow liked the film overall. I does not seem to have a strong direction of where it's going but in a weird way in enchanted my and my friends. At least we laughed most of the time. I think Erpur and Benedikt were extremely good in their roles, but we all love Petur and his work. I like the music very much, it comes from all over the world and is not as dark as usual Icelandic film music is. The twist with the school teacher being a crime boss is very funny. Also the Wolfi character is adorable. Cool, lovely film.
If you miss out on one film this year, let it be this one!
Badly shot, badly edited, clumsy dialogue, flat characters, unsuccessful adaption of a novel. It doesn't really get much worse. Decent acting and good popcorn saved me for this hour and a half - felt more like three hours - of boredom. Occasional good one-liners. David is a dim-witted young man, who has never recovered from losing his brother at an early age. He puts his faith in a Chinese philosophy mumbo jumbo video, although that doesn't seem to help him much in real life. David is a member of a debt-collectors gang, where every member has an IQ below sea level. A lacking script, along with uncreative shooting and even worse editing, make what could have been quite funny incidents of failed debt-collecting look like a amateurish homemade reality show. David rents an apartment from an elementary school teacher, Haraldur, who by dropping a couple of sentences about his own importance convinces David he is dealing with the most dangerous criminal in Iceland. A severely lacking script doesn't offer David anything to base his opinion on. A couple of scenes SHOWING Haraldur doing something that David could have misinterpreted would have done the work. The potentials of film as media, as opposed to the text of the book this film is based on, are not exploited. At first, David's connection with Haraldur raises his status within the debt-collectors gang, but the prevailing paranoia in the criminal world forces David to show where his loyalty lies. The plot of the film is fine, but then it is based on the book. This could have been a much better film. A good screenwriter could have made something of this material. Sadly, that is not the case. The acting is generally good. Pétur Jóhann is excellent and credible as David. Eggert Þorleifsson doesn't get much to work with, but does his best with what little material he has. Ingvar Sigurðsson and Michael Imperioli (in a tiny role) manage alright. Overall opinion: What could have been quite a funny and entertaining film about a dim-witted anti-hero in a debt-collectors gang, becomes a boring, badly-crafted film made after a poor manuscript. Staring at your toes for an hour and a half would be more enjoyable.
Ten years too late
I did have a good time the first 45 min. or so, but then suddenly it was all down hill. The suspense somewhat started to get thin and the jokes somewhat the same all over. What kept it going were the good actors. But the problem with this film is that it is trying to be cleverly funny,like Tarantino and god is that outdated stuff. Tarantino being a bit overrated sometimes, this movie comes ten years too late. At best it is for teenagers, and I am sure many of them find the character of Johann funny, which he is for the first 30 min. The other problem I have with it is that the story fades away towards the end more and more, thou I tried to find a recovery point. Maybe it didn't recover because the lack of passion comes with the effort of trying to be cleverly funny. Also, like in many movies, sure, good actors who can afford it don't seem to demand a better dialogue, or just turn down the script.
Admit it: you didn't have this image of Iceland.
Iceland has historically been seen as one of the most pristine, idealistic places on Earth. The island's economic collapse in 2007-2008 threw water on this perception, but it rebounded by prosecuting the bankers and essentially bailing out the people. It's safe to say that the country has regained its positive stereotype. Not if you watch Olaf de Fleur's "Stóra planið" ("The Higher Force" in English), though. This movie depicts a debt collector. I'm talking one real lowlife. I've seen a number of movies from the Scandinavian countries - yes, I count Iceland in that number - which depict people's lives as lowly and miserable, or depict nasty individuals. This stands in sharp contrast to the stereotype of the Nordic countries as immaculate utopias. I suppose that there's bound to be something gritty below the surface. About half the movie is in Icelandic, half in English, with a little bit of Chinese. Most of the cast won't be recognizable to US audiences, but Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos" plays a supporting role. I guess that I recommend the movie as an alternate look at Iceland, beyond the stories of the economic meltdown and the images of geothermal springs. Not a great movie, but OK in a pinch. Ísland lifa að eilífu!