The Love that Remains (Astin sem eftir er)

Magnús (Sverrir Gudnason), a fisherman living in the southeast of Iceland, and Anna (Saga Garðarsdóttir), a visual artist, are in a transition phase, after the conclusion, reached before the film starts, that their marriage has come to an end. Don’t expect rancorous accusations and loud arguments though. The Love that Remains is a gentle and whimsical dramedy that favours humour and invention to reveal the absurdity of the very notion of a family “falling apart”.

For his fourth and lightest opus, the gifted Icelandic filmmaker directs his own children in the roles of Magnús and Anna’s three kids. They are naturals. Rather, their dad make them inhabit these fictional roles in a way that only trust and familiarity allows.

And with a stunning lucidity, he masterfully edits this unusual mix of intimacy, nature’s splendour and profound emotional expressions. In its making and its content, The Love that Remains is, indeed, an ode to family.

This screening is supported by the Embassy of Iceland and the Embassy of Sweden in Ireland.