L'île du diable

A very dark comedy dealing with people living in abandoned US barracks in Iceland. The characters apparently were based on real people but really, they could be characters that we know in our own parts of the world, making the point that we are all part of the human race with our foibles and idiosyncrasies. Yes, it was in the Icelandic language; yes, you likely had to read sub-titles. But for anyone interested in serious film, this would be no hindrance. This film puts to shame the overwhelming majority of films made in the USA these days which seem to be dumbing down even more each year. This is a film about life, covering a wide range from comedy to tragedy, but always thought-provoking and involving.

I go out of my way to view foreign/independent film (I know, we're a vanishing breed) and rented this video at a neighborhood store that has a pretty good foreign selection mostly on the power of having seen COLD FEVER, which I enjoyed.

While I appreciate "dark comedies" as much as the next person -- and am a huge fan of Aki Kurasmaki (so I have some familiarity of Scandinavian film sensibility) -- it was a mistake to have placed so much of the film's success around a character as thoroughly unlikable as Baddi.

While he dominates the screen with charmless, witless and appalling behavior that knows no bounds (premised on his contact with "America"), most of the other characters are used as props and are nobly antithetical, i.e., they have a conscience. But for the most part, as a whole they cannot counterbalance the effect that the Baddi character has on the film.

That is a shame because there appeared to be some good potential character driven aspects to the story that were wasted.

This movie is really good. At least it's better than the book although many people would disagree with me there. To enjoy this film more than some have been doing you'll have to know what situation the people are in. The movie is based on the Icelandic lives at that time. I think it's a great movie but not the best Icelandic movie i've seen.

If I would see some film that is identical to this one from another country with another culture I would not enjoy it as much. For example if there were a movie about someone in Britain and I would not know the situation the people would be in I wouldn't understand the story in the film.

I recommend to everybody who can read the book to read it before or after you see this film. In the book you can see the storyline much better and you'll know why this is a really good movie.

Poor families In the barrack district in Reykjavik in 50's. Mother who gets married and moves to America leaving her children. Grown-up boy sticking around with his gang and violence. His younger brother with bad self-confidence and the tragedy, which wakes up his wild brother to consider of his own life. The film is full of tragedies, miserable and disparate people. But, so amazing, the film ends peacefully with "Charles Chaplin" and the opera singing boy. This ending doesn't however let the audiences forget what happened with the family before, and even though, you get hope of bright future of the family. Very unique film with any possible elements of life. The Icelandic language spies the film too with its beautiful sounds.

I saw this movie in a university class. First, I felt it was somewhat loose in storyline and editing, and it took me a while to get me into the story. but then I got accustomed with the characters and was fine after all.

The story is about a family that lives in some come-down US-barrack-shelters in the early 1950ies. It covers a couple of years of time. It's built up like a classic Icelandic saga - about a family in Iceland, with one character, Baddi that is, in the middle, and the problems Baddi causes. But that might also make the story a bit boring.

Characters are odd and funny. Cinematography is excellent. If you like Scandinavian cinema and and story lines you can't predict, this is a movie you should watch.