Virgin Mountain

2015 1h 30m IS

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 290

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Fúsi finds comfort in the familiarity of his routines, until an involuntary dance class forces him to encounter the real world.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Gunnar Jónsson
Fúsi
Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir
Sjöfn
Sigurjón Kjartansson
Mörður
Franziska Una Dagsdóttir
Hera
Margrét Helga Jóhannsdóttir
Fjóla
Arnar Jónsson
Rolf
Thorir Sæmundsson
Elvar
Sigurður Karlsson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Dagur Kári
Writers: Dagur Kári
Languages: Icelandic
Countries: Denmark, Iceland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Iceland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Dagur Kári, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Gunnar Jónsson and Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir and Sigurjón Kjartansson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2611652 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Dagur Kári directs. Rasmus Videbæk behind the camera. Olivier Bugge Coutté cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Denmark, Iceland. Dialogue in Icelandic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 11 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Iceland.
4Directed by Dagur Kári, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gunnar Jónsson and Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir and Sigurjón Kjartansson carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt2611652 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rasmus Videbæk
Editing: Olivier Bugge Coutté
Production design: Hálfdán Pedersen
Costume design: Helga Rós Hannam
VFX supervisor: Dadi Einarsson
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: IS
IMDB: Virgin Mountain (2015)

Awards

Nordic Council Film Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Dagur Kári

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-04-14
★ 8/10
There comes a time for everything in life. By seeing the poster you will get a close idea of what this film is about. Still the movie delivers with a decent storyline. The title is a metaphor of what the movie is illustrating. There's nothing to inspire from it, its just based on the facts that was rendered very realistically. Like how the overweight people are seen by their co-workers and how they are treated in society for being different in character. This is a very good movie about a 43 year old man named Fúsi, who still lives with his mother. As by himself the life is so wonderful for having a decent job and a faithful friend. But reminding himself for living in the world where people have a different thought for a guy like him is what he has to worry about. That bars him from socialising and makes him a weird person. But looks like he does not care much about it or those who bully him. A guy with a good heart, but not spotted by others. There comes a time for everything. Two girls enter his life. A little neighbour girl Hera, who instantly become his playmate and Sjöfn, a woman of his own age with a mental issue. This so exciting part of the movie, like there's always someone waiting for everyone in the world to unite with. He has to choose between being a child like Hera or to grow up and move on in life with Sjöfn. After an incident he learns what's the best, but faces complications. That's where the remaining film turns its focus, but how the tale ends is not what something we would want to see. "You are becoming a real chef. I guess she does not cook much." These days the filmmakers try as much as they can to avoid the cliche, especially in the conclusion section. That's what I disliked in this, but still appreciate the original ending. Humanity had seen and still facing racism, issues related to gender equality, religious and LGBT discrimination, and many more. Along with all this, what this movie narrated is a very common matter to worry about from every culture and society. Like I said, it is not trying to educate us, but you can't ignore the seriousness of the film contents. The scenes often filled with light humours. A little love story and a little play story, but overall about the life and its difficulties. This film is a glimpse of what it would be like being a different from others either by characteristically and/or by appearance. The film characters show their emotions, but sentimentally not appealing as it should have been. Usually that is what we all expect in a theme like this. I think for a narration like this that would have been so depressing. So it is not a tearjerker movie after all. It was like 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' meets 'Terri'. A sensitive matter, a big concept in a small movie. A well written screenplay and beautifully performed, especially by the lead guy. Any professional actors would have played the role easily, but not as perfect as him. I don't remember of seeing any Icelandic movie in a long time, but I'm very pleased with this one. I would surely suggest it, before that, you should remember it is not a genuinely entertaining or a sincerely motivating film, but lies between them, that is kind of both I say. 8/10

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