Nói albínói (2003)

Director:

Dagur Kári

Writer:

Dagur Kári (writer)

Release Date:

28 February 2003 (Iceland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A wonderboy and drop-out on an Icelandic village scale, Noi (17), dreams of escaping from his remote fjord with the girl from the filling station...

Plot Keywords:

Fjord | Filling Station | Escape | Mountain | Iceland

Awards:

20 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Tómas Lemarquis	...	Nói
Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson	...	Kiddi Beikon
Elín Hansdóttir	...	Íris
Anna Friðriksdóttir	...	Lína
Hjalti Rögnvaldsson	...	Óskar
Pétur Einarsson	...	Prestur
Kjartan Bjargmundsson	...	Gylfi
Þorsteinn Gunnarsson	...	Þórarinn Skólastjóri
Guðmundur Ólafsson	...	Alfreð Kennari
Haraldur Jónsson	...	Teitur Sálfræðingur
Gérard Lemarquis	...	Frönskukennari
Greipur Gíslason	...	Dabbi
Páll Loftsson	...	Pabbi Dabba / Bankastjóri
Ásdís Thoroddsen	...	Bankastarfsmaður
Ásmundur Ásmudsson	...	Barþjónn

Also Known As:

Nói (USA) (promotional title)
Noi the Albino (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

France:82 min | Iceland:93 min | Netherlands:90 min (Rotterdam Film Festival) | Netherlands:95 min | Sweden:89 min | USA:93 min

Country:

Iceland | Germany | UK | Denmark

Language:

Icelandic | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bolungarvík, Iceland

Company:

Zik Zak Kvikmyndir

Trivia:

Gérard Lemarquis, who plays the French schoolteacher, is the father of 'Tomas Lemarquis', who plays Noi. Gérard Lemarquis is a French schoolteacher in real life, and the director 'Dagur Kari' was one of his students.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the scene where the psychiatrist examines Nói, the former behaves strangely negligent. No health care professional would administrate an intelligence test by giving the subject scarce instructions, since these are part of a standardized protocol. Instead, he would give detailed instructions asking the subject if he has understood them and should be present during, at least, a portion of the test.

Quotes:

Frönskukennari: Bonjour. Today I'II teach you how to make real mayonnaise.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gerð kvikmyndarinnar 'Nói albínói' viðtal við Dag Kára Pétursson leikstjóra og handritshöfund (2004) (V)

Comedy, beauty, tragedy

Noi is a tragicomic tale of a young man who is too bright to be stuck in the dismal life he was given, but not creative enough or tenacious enough to find a way out. He refuses to play by the rules, but has not figured out anything else that he can do or be. He has minor escapes, via a ViewMaster, books, a girlfriend from the city, a gun to shoot icicles with, but they are not ultimately enough to keep him from going berserk. But the tiny Icelandic village where he lives understands him, and refuses to do something so simple as to have him locked up or sent away. Rather, they just understand, and Noi cannot get out of his dreary cold existence.

The role of Noi is played by a skinny young man who looks like he's had chemo, but he's got a beautiful expressive face, which is on-screen almost all the time. I'd love to see the guy with a head of hair. His grandmother provides great comic relief as she does her aerobics, and his dad is a vivid character down on his luck in a way that only Scandinavians can portray. He's drunk on Elvis, and that makes his life bearable.

Hope this movies gets releases--it's beautiful to look at, funny, sad, touching.