Metalhead

There's something about northern hemisphere foreign-language movies that I love. Anything from Denmark or Sweden, and this is from Iceland, I think?

I do have my doubts about this film though. The acting isn't always great and I had a problem with the believability of the main character as a hard rocker, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of Metalhead much.

It doesn't matter if a movie has little content as long as you enjoy what it gives. Perhaps a bleak statement of art, or just someone working through their grief through mismatched relationships and the love of music, whatever the genre might be: it could be country or gospel, it doesn't really matter. Ultimately things work out well if you stick to your principles and follow your dreams, listening to your heart, instead of taking easy comfort, which is what I got from this movie.

Málmhaus could have been better and a bit more sordid and harrowing, but the ending credits with Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth nailed it for me.

A throwback in time. To some to a better time (and music) and to a smaller village that is center stage here. We do have a girl who's different and is not really liked for that reason. The story has a lot of good songs (again only if you like the music of course) and a character development that might be predictable but still works, especially because of the acting.

It stays true to its nature most of the time, not going for an easy way out (no pun intended), but might have jumped the shark a bit at the ending (depending on your view of what's happening). Still good strong characters and a nice story.

Metalhead (Málmhaus)is hard rocking. Superbly artistic and powerful. A strange but potent blend of Icelandic nature, divine acting and deep message. Melodramatic joy where death and hope are woven into a web under heavy tones of metal. The stage is a farm in Iceland where a teenage girl transforms into a heavy metal performer and songwriter, exercising in the cowshed with the cows as her audience but maybe not the biggest fans. Love and death is not far away and gives the film a classic undertone where basic themes of human nature are explored. The strong theme in the movie is the endless question about faith and religion when you are faced with the sudden death of your family or friends, the question where almighty god is when young people die. The film has many references to classic literature and the history of the movie. A film that you want to see again and again. I would not be surprised that this will develop into a classic cult movie. The director and actors deliver a fantastic tale.

It may seem that this film is about music or about a musical style, but it really speaks about what is that people thinks about us and what they think we should be or they want us to be, about what we want to be and about who we really are. Talk about the most important thing in life, which is one's own identity and our happiness. Very powerful message. It is an excellent film.

I liked Málmhaus as a drama a lot, only the resolution, the ending was a little too much suger-candy for me. I know, I know, sometimes a positive message is not a bad one, but after the really well made story and well performing cast, I would have liked a more twisted or more "serious" ending, or maybe an idea that was not that obvious. Anyway, still good.