The Swan: Icelandic drama centers on a child’s rite of passage

RCosta- Gorgeously shot with enhanced images of the vast natural landscapes in Iceland, Writer/Director Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir’s captivating drama follows the rite of passage of a 9 year-old girl who’s sent to the countryside to learn a few life-changing lessons. There, she develops a sense of revolt and disgust towards things, people and environment, but also a strange attachment to others, such as a baby cow she helps bring to life and the impulsive troubled youngster farmer with whom she shares familiarity. Based on the acclaimed novel by Guðbergur Bergsson, Hjörleifsdóttir’s first feature film scored the Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and a Special Prize at Cairo International Film Festival. The director analysis the girl’s experiences and emotional transformation with profound interest on her reactions, making it a beautifully observed, hauntingly poetic and inclusive drama about finding your identity and also, understanding how to deal with life and its inescapable phases.
(A Synergetic Distribution. New York – Now Playing at Village East Cinema, NYC and Opens August 17, at Laemmle Royal in LA.)