Bye Bye Blue Bird

Maybe another example, where an ambitious newcomer director hides the lack of a true story behind a road movie. This time with two weird young ladies returning to their Iceland home country.

The movie isn't really bad, it is quite entertaining, sometimes a little bit funny, some scenes really 'breath life' - but only sometimes the two main characters seem really 'alive' (not a mere construction played by wanna-be actresses).

If you want to enjoy the wonderful Icelandic countryside, I rather recommend 'Cold Fever' (also a road movie, but a really beautiful one).

Although enjoyable and sometimes hilarious, this movie is poorly founded on a string of unbelievable characters and slow plot development while the emotional baggage seems to be referenced but not visualized. It obviously isn't a mainstream film, but even for art-house it is trying to be too mainstream-focused and it underestimates its audience in doing this. The movie is perfect for a dark Sunday afternoon, but don't expect it to get you in a more positive mood, for this, the film is treating its material (even the comedy) to heavily. Maybe the movie is best reviewed in comparison to its two protagonists, Rannva and Barba; both coated in glamour and good looks, but ultimately shallow, empty and pretentious.

While watching this film I found my attention slipping from time to time. At other moments I was thoroughly enjoying myself. So my reaction to this film is mixed.

Two eccentric young women, Rannvá and Barba, come to their native Faroer to find some connection with their past and their families. In the beginning of the film it seems, because of the women's erratic and provocative behaviour, that their only objective is to show the local inhabitants how extremely boorish and unsophisticated they (the locals) are. But through a series of seemingly unrelated events and persons we learn more about the history of both characters and the seriousness of their quest for belonging.

Accompanied by their faithful driver Rúni, who himself is on a quest for work in an interesting but never fully realized sub-plot, they drive through the beautiful Faroer landscape. Their moods swing from the deeply tragic to the highly exhilarated.

It is in these exhilarated moments that the girls really come to life and for me these were the scenes that I found most enjoyable. A feeling of genuine fun is transmitted through the TV-screen (I missed this one in the cinema) and this made me really like these women.

The tragic scenes seemed to me a little over the top and did not feel very genuine, too much like two actresses desperately trying to convey an emotion they do not feel at that moment. It was in these moments that my attention wandered from the screen and it is here that I think this movie is mostly unconvincing.

All in all still a very enjoyable, nicely paced film with good camera work and editing, conveying a slight sense of disorientation which helps in evoking the spirit the women are in.

The plot is arguably thin, but I loved the film's unique setting. A film about escape, island identity and personal revelation. Faroe comedy and tragedy marks this obscure and older indie film worth a watch especially if you are wanting to take in different scenery and culture alike!

If you see this movie, you'll first think it is very weird. Many students Danish at the University Of Amsterdam turned of their television after half an hour. But they were wrong. The weird but hilarious characters, the interesting plot and the good actors, it makes Bye Bye Bluebird I very good film.

It is NOT the story about two aliens on The Faroer, it is a tragic comedy about two girls in search of their identities. A deeply moving film with an unexpected ending...And yes, I cried when I saw it. If you have any interest in danish, Danmark or The Faroer, you can not afford to miss this film!