Nói Albinó

           Nói is a deeply estranged teenager who lives with his grandmother in an isolated and impoverished fishing village in remote Iceland. The icy landscape and winter darkness are foreboding, but beautifully mysterious in their own way. His father is an alcoholic taxi driver who rages at the piano with an ax. His grandmother wakes him in the morning by blasting a shotgun out the window. Nói is smart enough, perhaps too smart for such a community— he solves a Rubic's Cube during an interview with the school psychologist. When he sends a tape recorder to take his place in class because he can't be bothered with school, he is expelled. An albino misfit and outcast who shaves his head, Nói finds some solace in his basement crawlspace (although it is never clear just what he does there), with a View Master with slides of Hawaii, and with a soul mate Iris who works at the local gas station-cafe. In a surprise ending, tragedy destroys his only glimmer of hope and Nói finally imagines an alternative future. This is the debut film by writer and director Dagur Kari, and it won numerous awards at international film festivals. In Icelandic with English subtitles.

Dan Clendenin: dan@journeywithjesus.net