Órói (2010) Reviews

• I loved this movie

  bh423942013-12-08

  As for the previous writer's review I won't comment... I thought this was a very well done coming of age drama. These kids are no different than kids in the US in that age group. Some people do drink a lot as well as do drugs during those years. It doesn't mean they aren't going to eventually find themselves and turn into who they will become in years to come. I thought the acting of each of these young people was very good and Gabriel's character would certainly touch home with many in any part of the world who are trying to figure it all out... I would highly suggest this movie to young people coming of age who are having problems with their sexuality. The movie is for the most part non-sexual in nature and what exist of the gay portion is very well done.

• Inside view in a teenage mind in today's time

  itsvivek4u2011-07-10

  Jitters is a coming of age drama set in Iceland. This film is like watching a group of teenagers through a secret camera and following the happenings in their life. The incidents can be positive, tense, romantic, eye openers or whatever but it does provide a fun , positive look at today's youngsters focussing specifically on Iceland. This is a group of trouble proned friends lead by Gabriel. On a 3 week English Immersion trip to Manchester, he shares a room with Marcus who is free spirited. He brings some character in life of Marcus and on their last day, they share a kiss. It is a short lived romance as it ends when they both come back home. They do keep sharing text messages though. Friends and family notice a change but he decides to keep a secret. We also get to know the lives of all of his friends. His best friend is having troubles with his girlfriend. He wants to score with her but she is not so easy to budge. We also have Greta, who just cant live with her mother anymore and decided to find a place for rent. She is also in search of her father and finally fins the man who could possibly be her father. She just wants to finish this so that she can move on. We also have Stella who likes Gabriel and who lives with her over protective grandmother who doesn't allow to let Stella live the life she wants to. She is always interfering. In between the lives of all of these friends, Gabriel is trying to find his own identity. When he and Marcus meet again, sparks are there but no one does anything. Gabriel is upset when he sees Marcus getting physical with a girl which ends up in a fight. When his friends interfere, Marcus tells them that Gabriel is gay. The friends are finally accepting and now it is time for Gabriel to move on and decide what he wants to do with Marcus. The excitement and traumas of a group of Icelandic teenagers as they tentatively enter young adulthood, is very effectively and brilliantly captured in this film. The entire ensemble cast is very good and very very well acted by the whole group of teenagers. I personally feel that if the focus could have been given more on Gabriel's relationship rather than focussing so much in details on the 2 girls, it would have been clear on what exact;y is going on in his head because he is always so quiet. But I guess in the process the film could also have missed out on a big chunk of audience. Overall, a pretty good job. I would have loved it even more if it was somewhat focused rather than all over the group of friends but that's just me. The film although showing young teenage drama still is insightful and remains true in showing emotions.

• Getting the...

  morrison-dylan-fan2015-10-21

  Talking to a family friend about the excellent Nordic Noir film Black's Game,he told me about a gay Nordic Drama that he had recently seen.With having only seen the Noir offerings from recent Nordic cinema,I started to get the "jitters" to explore other genres. The plot: Going on a school trip to the UK city of Manchester for 3 weeks,Icelandic 16 year old Gabriel is pared up with fellow Icelandic Markus. Sharing a room together,Gabriel begins to develop a strong bond with Markus on their nights out drinking,and starts to fall in love with him.Returning home to Iceland,Gabriel finds his friends to constantly push for him to go out with girls.Nervous about the response he would get,Gabriel decides to keep his feelings for Markus hidden from his friends.As Gabriel tries to make sense of his feelings,his best friend Stella finds herself struggling with the restrictions that her grandmother is putting on her feelings. View on the film: Backed by a warm acoustic indie soundtrack,co-writer/(along with Ingibjörg Reynisdóttir)director Baldvin Zophoníasson & cinematographer Jóhann Máni Jóhannsson give the movie a rustic,almost documentary appearance,as Zophoníasson's long takes capture the intimacy and friendship between Gabriel and his friends with a real delicacy. Giving the paperback cover of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a cheeky cameo, Zophoníasson subtly brings darkness into Gabriel & Stella's friendship,as the light,breezy brightness of the first half dims into dark blues and blacks,as Stella starts to reach a breaking point with her grandmother. For the screenplay of the film, Zophoníasson & Reynisdóttir use the opening to give the relationship between Gabriel & Markus a firm foundation,thanks to the casual nature of the dialogue expressing the love and tenderness that Gabriel feels for Marcus. Surrounding Gabriel with a group of pals,the writers brilliantly make the criss- crossing plots feel like they are building the overall friendship of the gang,as Stella's tragic issues with her ground mother are entwined with Markus having a desire to know about what Gabriel's feelings are for him. Given the most tragic notes of the friends,Iva Holmes gives a raw,heartfelt performance as Stella,with Holmes brilliantly balancing Stella's relaxed,friendly personality with a brittle darkness that becomes to much to bare.Lighting up the screen with his dazzling eyes, Atli Oskar Fjalarsson gives a fantastic performance as Gabriel,thanks to Fjalarsson giving an adorable awkwardness,as he starts to get the jitters for Markus.

• Gritty and emotional, but somehow falls flat.

  DoINeedT02014-06-28

  I felt this film was well done in the fact that none of the story-lines were over-complicated, but there were a lot of them and thus didn't make it quite as powerful if there had just been a singular one. However, the acting was accomplished; I especially was captivated by the Grandmother's emotional performance, it was heart-rendering when she was given the necklace and also *spoiler* at the funeral; the shot when she was talking to Gabriel, was really beautiful. Adding to this, the moments where certain characters just hugged each other was particularly moving, especially when no words were needed to convey their emotions. The final scene was both humorous, tense and relatively satisfying for a film ending. I have to say that I didn't connect with Gabriel's character to a large extent, but I loved the way that he was very at ease with his friends and that they could all be at ease with each other. The music was quite good too and I was happy when I heard the song 'Love Love Love' by 'Of Monsters and Men', when Gabriel is on the bus at one point, I felt the lyrics reflected the Grandmother's feelings. The film felt very long for the right film length , and the beginning felt almost like another film, or it didn't quite fit with the rest of the film. Overall, I liked the film, it somehow didn't reach my expectations, it was gritty and emotional, and again like many coming of age films; portrayed teenagers' awkwardness, possibly too much. But never the less, I enjoyed it.

• Icelandic Skins

  meaninglessbark2013-01-14

  Jitters is not exactly the movie the packaging describes (the story of a gay 16 year old's coming of age). It's more of an ensemble piece with multiple story lines. In fact the supposed main story is so lightweight it's easy to forget it's meant to be the movie's main story. Not that Jitters really has any story to tell. The movie just stares at the slightly over dramatized lives of a group of Icelandic 16 year olds. This mainly consists of drinking, kissing, drinking Coca-Cola (either that beverage is huge among Iceland's youth or the company paid for placement), gossiping, and walking around looking cute and moody. Every now and then there are flashes of drama which feel more like script flourishes than real life. If you liked the BBC's Skins you might enjoy Jitters. But Jitters is more like a listless, dreary, low key version of Skins. It's watchable but not memorable. Jitters is also one of those films where you can see the bones for a much better film beneath all the standard movie plotting. There are a few moments which are excellent, such as the final scene in the film. Had the story focused on the main character and his sorting himself out this probably would have been a great film.