LFF 2015: Virgin Mountain Dir. Dagur Kári

Virgin Mountain is a little gem of a film telling the heart warming, somewhat selfless tale of forty something, morbidly obese, virgin, Fusi. A loner who lives with his mother somewhere in remote Iceland - his day job as an airport luggage mover is tiresome, he's subject to bullying at work,, plods along the life he has created for himself, a limited although secure life. Going to the same thai restaurant on his own every Friday, eating nesquick cereal, getting stoned with his friend from time to time, calling a radio DJ to request songs connects him to the world and accepting the odd bullies at work.

A friendship is sparked up with an adorable young girl next door and naturally causes suspicions of perversity but Fusi's character and heart is as innocent as a young child -  the film deals very well with portraying this.

His world is shaken up when his mothers boyfriend buys him a line dancing lessons as a means to socialise and connect with the world - although he doesn't actually stick around for the first class, instead taking sanctuary in his car whilst a blizzard erupts around him. Staggering out of the dance studio, the vivacious, Sjfon appears and asks ever so casually and confidently for a lift home -many humorous sequence occur with the two of them, namely when she requests a Dolly Parton song to be played on Fusi's favourite radio station.

The film is beautifully shot and has a particularly ritualistic essence to it, much like Fusi's life, there is a bizarre comforting rhythm to it all. Fusi soon discovers the bright and pleasant Sjfon is battling with her own demons - we see Fusi wriggly his way into her home despite her attempts of pushing him away. He embarks on continuous selfless acts; cleans her plant ridden, messy flat, takes on her shifts at work, cooks for her and makes sure she's okay. At first his motivations are not clear but by the end of the film, the audience realises through these selfless acts of love have managed to set Fusi free of his limited life.

The plot is simple and perhaps a little predictable but that is really the sheer beauty of the film - a very sincere and surface based film that shy's away from emotional complexity. Towards the end of the film we see a birds eye view shot of the plane that Fusi is on separate from the walk way - this subtle symbolism is a sly nod to the fact that this big friendly giant has not only released himself from his co-dependent relationship with his mother, he has also gained some zest for life - the film ends with our beloved Fusi embarking on his own adventure and personal journey.

We cannot recommend Virgin Mountain enough - you can buy your tickets here. 

LFF 2015: Der Nachtmahr Dir. Akiz

"What the fuck was that..?!" said one member of the press as the credits rolled. Der Nachtmahr is a surreal exploration of the struggles of a teenager. A true delight in many ways and however much we detest the term 'unique', it really is just that - set in Berlin, the film tells the story of rave goer, Tina. Attending raves is just as a regular ritual here as it is for Brits going to the pub.

Plenty of strobe lighting, loud techno music and paranoid drug fuelled moments leads anxiety driven Tina to discover a strange ET-esque creature roaming around invading her fridge at night - at first (as expected), Tina is the only person who can see this shy creature. They have a bizarre bond and are inter connected, when it eats eggs and offers Tina one, Tina exclaims she is allergic and will come out in rash if she eats it, later at the club, Tina discovers she has a rash. Naturally, this suggests the creature is most certainly from the deep depths of Tina's sub-conscience

There are lots of interesting and particularly funny moments in the film - Der Nachtmahr doesn't take itself too seriously which is part of it's charm yet it tackles some serious issues. A couple of sequences take place in Tina's therapy sessions where she's encouraged to make friends with the creature and touch it, this of course is a means for her to get beyond her obvious spiral into mental illness.

Is Tina merely just dealing with the effects of taking too many drugs? Or is this creature real?

Akiz has directed an interesting and humorous film that has attempted to follow suit with the style of Twin Peaks and perhaps be something quite avant-garde, unfortunately there are only fleeting moments of this. The film can feel quite tedious at times. Having said this, there are some interesting issues the film plays around with and its brilliantly shot - the audience connects to the outstanding performance of its main character, Tina (played by the waifer thin and brilliant, Carolyn Genzkow).

It's important to state that there is nothing scary about this film despite the suggestions of the trailer - part of the DARE stream, Der Nachtmahr screens at London Film Festival on Thursday 8th October and Saturday 10th October. You can buy tickets on the BFI website.