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Mama Gogo | Mamma Gógó – dir. Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, 2010

date: 02/08/2012 time: 12:20 place: PGE Cinema film program: retrospective of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson artistic program: films

IS, UK, NO, DE, SE | 2010 | 90 min

reż|dir  Fridrik Thor Fridriksson pro|pro Gudrun Edda Thorhanesdottir, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson scen|wr Fridrik Thor Fridriksson zdj|ph Ari Kristinsson muz|mus Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson mon|ed Sigvaldi J. Kárason, Tomas Potocny, Anders Refn ob|cast Kristbjörg Kjeld, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir, Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir, Inga Maria Valdimarsdóttir

 

A partially autobiographical story bordering between absurd and satire. Mama Gogo is an elderly lady who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her son, a famous Icelandic director, is counting on becoming an Oscar-nominee for „Children of Nature,” a failure in native cinemas. He is struggling with financial problems, and taking care of his mother brings him ever greater problems.  Gogo constantly gets into trouble and makes mistakes, almost burning down her apartment. The son will be forced to put her in a nursing home.

As usual, Fridriksson refers to his experiences, simultaneously constructing a black comedy and drama about illness, as well as a perceptive satire on the Icelandic film industry. What adds great value to the film is the role – strong and full of nuances –  of  Kristbjörg Kjeld as the mother, as well as the island’s beautiful landscapes, which, as a matter of fact, are present in all Icelandic films.