Síðasti bærinn

“Hrafn” (Jón Sigurbjörnsson) and his wife have lived on a remote Icelandic farm for much of their lives, but now with the harsh winter imminent they have been convinced by their daughter to spend this one in the warmth of a centrally heated and double glazed retirement home. As their final weekend at home approaches, he is adamant on the phone to his daughter that she not arrive to collect them until Monday. Why? Well that part of the mystery is actually quite obvious, but set amidst some gloriously pristine scenery this is a film that’s really more about a partnership, and one that is going to endure. Indeed, as we discover that his daughter and her family are on their way to “surprise” the couple, this actually becomes a race against time - and one that I felt myself hoping would work for the industrious “Hrafn”. What truly matters? A life with or one without - a difficult choice, or perhaps not?