| Með allt á hreinu is still the
unbroken box office hit of Iceland. The most popular film
of the island tells the story of two pop music bands, the
one allþmale and named Stuðmenn, the other one
allþfemale and with the name Gærur. Together they plan
a tour which around the country, restlessly on the search
for fame, stardom and world validity. The individual
members are first presented in small amusing sequences in
their everyday life, before we see them together at a
rehearsal. The Leadsinger of both groups, actually a
loving couple, disagree during the reharsal, both
vocationally and privately. Thus diverted every group
starts touring for itself - with hurt pride, but however
with loads of enthusiasm. But soon it becomes clear that
the respective opposite side is likewise on the way - and
the contest begins... "Með allt á hreinu" is
one of the most amiable and witty films of the last
decade. It is a over-foaming little film, somewhere
between comedy and musical, maybe better to be called
roguish. With its naive charm and the gushing enthusians
of the participants the spectator is carried forward on a
route through a strange country, full of little stories
and full of little strangeness. Despite a budget, which
reminds more of a donation for an orphanage than of
professional film financing and despite a simple
guidance, the joy takes the viewer instantly. The
director Águst Guðmundsson succeeded to lead the real
existing heap of very talented and skilled musician that
one is not aware of the fact, that one watches a knitted
story, but is rather catched to take the bands to one´s
heart, whatever may come. They are a group of musicians,
who are in their selfirony a as much better example of
Icelands peculiarness, than all travel guides could ever
describe: Moodily, shrewed,
ordinary and proud, rough and clever, and all this in a
country of lies, Show-offs and charmers, without any kind
of discipline, which gives, despite everything, the urge
to the participants of being faster and more modern than
the rest of the world. A world power in literature, in
some moments also in music, and in addition, master of
the naivety. This comedy lives on these attributes. What
makes this movie standing apart from them all is the rare
fact, that a story not only describes such
characteristics but reflects them also with nonchalant
mockery. But nevertheless these characteristics and
peculiarnesses of the country and its inhabitant are only
the background for the partly suggestiv, partly
tongue-in-the-cheek-like battle of the sexes, the fight
for fame, acknowledgment, and particularly for the pride
in conquering. Only gradually the spectator realizes, how
clever the strings are pulled, how cunning the wit is and
how intelligent the dynamic of the film works With their
self irony and their noticeable fun at playing Stuðmenn
and Gærur create a marvellous bow, which wakes musically
memories on the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah band,
cinematically on Monty Python. Noticeable is surely the
achivements of the participants as actors, especially
Ragnhildur Gísladóttir as bandleader Harpa Sjöfn, who
faces up squarely and with nonchalance the singer of the
male band, Kristinn Styrkason Propé, alias Egill
Ólafsson.
Films of this kind become unfortunately
rare, and it is so far the only one in the Scandinavian
cinema. Therefore one should keep an eye open if there is
an opportunity to see this film on a Festival.
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