Virgin Mountain

A sad and warm, somehow comical story at the same time. A minimalistic and very honest portrait of how even a little romance can brighten up a life when everything seems grey and cloudy. There is something about Icelandic movies and Icelandic music that just have that special paradox of melancholy and joy at the same time. This is a film about how small adventures in the everyday routine life can change the world of one person. It puts life in perspective and leaves you with a ambiguous feeling of satisfaction and wistfulness all at once. Something like a rainy day. It makes me realise that the most important things are the relationship we build and the chances we take in life. I feel a need to see a continuation, yet I don't think there will ever be one.

It was fitting that on watching this film, I was almost alone in the cinema, because isolation and solitude are powerful themes throughout Fúsi. So when you're out by yourself, in the middle of the day, to watch an obscure Icelandic movie showing at an archaic cinema that now uses a projector rather suited for private use, than public screenings, it all kind of falls into place and reinforces the emotional investment in the whole experience.

Fúsi, a 43 year old man-child, but without the usual derogatory connotations of the term, is a tinkerer who lives with his mother, reenacts WW2 battles with his neighbour and works at a hapless job, where he is constantly bullied. Yet, what looks like a bleak and joyless existence, washes over Fúsi like a warm shower on a winter's day. His outlook on life is inhabited by a neutral positivity informed mostly through how naive and passive Fúsi seems most of the time. And all this is tested once he meets a woman who appears to take an interest in him, enabling him to be the nurturer he is at heart.

This story really hit a nerve, as I'm sure it has for many people who have ever felt alone, or love-stricken or stranded. It is a vicious portrayal of the world, which is only redeeming because Fúsi is the kind of character that takes it all in his stride. Otherwise, it gently treads the line of tragedy, but never crosses it. And surely, Fúsi is an idealized altruist with autistic tendencies, but he's still someone you can identify with, because you recognize the gestures, the emotions and the triggers within and around him.

However, the film does tend to be stereotypically simplistic in its bleakness. Whether it is the abuse Fúsi faces, his run in with the law, the relationship with his mother, these occasionally serve nothing more than to amplify traits in the character, respectively "the world", which are all too apparent to begin with. Not to mention that his romantic conception of what is acceptable really pushes the suspension of disbelief to places it should never be pushed. Yet, it is in the romance that the film manages to stay true to itself and believable, hyperbolic gestures aside. Because, hey, we've all been there and sometimes it does play out in your mind the way it all unfolds here. Or thereabouts.

So there it is, an Icelandic experience of philosophical proportions, that is quite certain to leave you ruminating at its conclusion. And empathizing, which is always a good muscle to engage.

I really appreciated this movie from Iceland. It reminded me TEDDY BEAR, a German movie I watched last week, speaking of a forty years adult, a bodybuilder, who lived with his widow mum and who looked for a female mate...Those two movies are quite nearly the same, except the two main characters are somewhat a bit different. TEDDY BEAR could me moving too but also less depressing, more optimistic. I loved the both anyway. I guess many stories like this happen in real life for many of us. I prefer this kind of features instead of the Hollywood style movies, where everything is fine in the end. I highly recommend this film to everyone.

This is not everyone's cup of tea. The slow moving pace, the story itself do not cry for much attention. The story of out main "hero" could be described as a boring one. One that is very close to life. Which makes it also intriguing for some viewers of course, but not really commercial (to put it lightly).

It's acted superbly and has some nice touches on a character who just wants to do the right thing (being too nice at times and innocent to a degree he does seem dangerous to some). Not that our main character is just a mountain of love (no pun intended) and cannot get angry. But you do sometimes wonder how he takes all the things in, that are being done to him (bullying doesn't stop at school for some).

A weird little movie/tale for those interested in quieter forms of "entertainment"

Looking at the plot synopsis, 'Virgin Mountain' may seem like a typical Kevin James movie: Fusi is a 43 year old, overweight virgin who still lives with his mother, plays with toys and is bullied by his co-workers. His daily life is dominated by routines. Every morning he eats cereals, goes to work, visits his favorite restaurant and calls a radio station to wish for the same song to be played. It is after he breaks his routines that he meets the women he falls in love with.

The big difference to movies like 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' or 'Zookeeper', is that the humor does not result in 'fat guy falls' or 'fat guy has the intellect of a 12 year old', but rather of Fusis naivety and his incapability of social interactions. A lesser movie would make Fusi look like an unsophisticated low life, but Director Dagur Kári still manages to take his character seriously and creates a beautiful character study about an misunderstood, warm-hearted giant.

The numerous comedic elements are skillfully mixed with dramatic components and Gunnar Jónsson conveys all emotions to the audience with his brilliant portrayal of Fusi without relying on a ham fisted, overly emotional score. On the contrary, the score is subtle and fits the cold, but beautiful cinematography of the film.

Sadly, the movie is not without its flaws. The bullies seem more like 6th graders than grown-up men and there is one particular scene that depicts him slightly to naive, which makes him dumber than he actually is.

Nevertheless, these are just minor flaws and don't really hurt the great experience that this movie is.