Metalhead (film)
| Metalhead | |
|---|---|
Film poster
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| Directed by | Ragnar Bragason |
| Produced by |
Árni Filippusson Davíd Óskar Ólafsson |
| Written by | Ragnar Bragason |
| Starring |
Thora Bjorg Helga Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson |
| Music by | Pétur Ben |
| Cinematography | August Jakobsson |
| Edited by | Valdís Óskarsdóttir |
| Distributed by | Cinelicious Pics eOne Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | Iceland |
| Language | Icelandic |
Metalhead (Icelandic: Málmhaus) is a 2013 Icelandic drama film written and directed by Ragnar Bragason. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
In the summer of 1983, a twelve-year-old girl, Hera Karlsdottir, lives a normal life on her family farm in a close-knit community. This changes once she watches her older brother Baldur fall off a tractor before his long hair is scalped by its blades. He is rushed out by the family by truck for medical attention, but he dies of his injury. At his funeral, Hera glares at the portrait of Jesus on the wall and runs out of the church during the service. Returning home, she picks up her brother's guitar and immediately adopts his metal music and fashion, burning all of her old clothes.
Years later, as Hera is a young adult, life in her home has not improved. She and her parents are still in shock and grief over Baldur's death. Meanwhile, her mother and father, respectively Droplaug and Karl, pursue community life by participating in the village church choir. There, they meet the new priest, Janus, who is liberal and rumored to be homosexual. In the local community, Hera's lifestyle stands out. She is bullied by other youths, calling her a devil worshiper. She frequently gets into trouble, doing things such as playing her guitar too loudly in the house and drunkenly stealing her neighbor's tractor. She gets a job at a slaughterhouse, but is soon fired for playing metal music over the loudspeakers and scaring off the livestock. She went with her family to a church sermon, but disrupts it by smoking inside. As she walks out and grieves over Baldur's grave, Janus tries reaching out to her, but she initially rejects him. She goes to a community ball, but is kicked out after starting a fight.
Her childhood friend Knútur comes with her as she heads home, where they have sex. He tries to start a conversation with her afterwards, but she turns away and leaves the room. One morning, Hera dons corpse paint and furiously herds all of her family's cattle out of the barn in the middle of the winter. Later that night, Knútur comes over to her house to propose to her, but she rejects him and tosses the ring out of his hands. In the wake of Hera's behaviour, her parents called over Janus for counseling. He agrees to help her, but then tries asking Karl and Droplaug about the state of their relationship. They initially refuse to talk about it, but Karl later breaks down, blaming himself for his son's death. Afterwards, he and Droplaug open up to each other about it more and, to Hera's surprise as she comes home, their relationship starts mending.
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