May 13, 2001

CHILDREN OF NATURE (BÖRN NATTURUNNAR) Iceland, 1991. Color. Subtitles. Not Rated. 85 Minutes. Directed by Fridrik Thór Fridriksson. Starring Gísli Halldórsson, Sigridur Hagalín, Baldvin Halldórsson.

This unforgettable Icelandic motion picture, Oscar-nominated for best foreign-language film of 1992, focuses on two senior citizens (Gísli Halldórsson and Sigridur Hagalín), unwanted by their families and consigned to an old folks' home. Halldórsson and Hagalín are the last two survivors of a small community evacuated during World War II and never repopulated, because of encroaching volcanoes. Ultimately, they decide to run away from their Reykjavik rest home to revisit their village one last time. "…

[D]irector/co-writer Fridrik Thór Fridriksson, founder of his country's first film society, its foremost cinema magazine, and the Reykjavik Film Festival, demonstrates maturity and finesse in a tale of age and magical transfiguration," says CineBooks, which gives the film 3½ stars.