Between Mountain and Shore

A film showing icelandic farmlife with elements of icelandic folklore mixed in.

Follows the adventures of the Bakkabrothers while on their visit to Reykjavík

"Síðasti bærinn í dalnum" is in the spirit of old folktales, a classic fairy tale about the struggle of good and evil. In the countryside, all the farmers have fled because of pestering trolls. One farmer, however, holds his ground with his family as the grandmother keeps a magic ring that protects the inhabitants from all evil. The trolls try to steal the ring and thus set in motion a series of events where forces of evil, a dwarf who can make himself invisible and an elf queen come to light.

The Adventure of Jón and Gvendur is a silent comedy inspired by Charles Chaplin. It is regarded as the first Icelandic feature film as it was directed, written and produced by Loftur Gudmundsson.

Ruth Hanson was of Danish descent, trained in dance and gymnastics in Denmark but then returned home. In 1927, Ruth hired Loft Guðmundsson, a photographer and filmmaker, to film a short instructional film on Flat-Charleston dancing. Ruth Hanson was 21 at the time, and her dance partner in the film was her 14-year-old sister, Rigmor.

There is very little information available online on this little gem, the first 'feature-length' film shot exclusively in Iceland by an Icelandic director, the pioneer Loftur Guðmundsson. Director and crew travelled all around the country with the ambitious goal of documenting all the aspects of the local life at the time. Fishing plays an important role (being then, by far, the number one national industry); one can also witness the humble beginnings of 'city-life' in the capital, one of the first (or was it the very first?) cars driving in Iceland, beautiful pastoral shots of farm-lands, ladies posing in the national costume, as well as fighters indulging in the national sport, 'glyma'. The 21st century traveller will be able to recognize a number of landmarks. The images are often naive, genuine, and captivating. In my opinion one of the most valuable Icelandic films. --Ewolve