Going to Iceland: I’ve bought tickets to Iceland and Norway for a trip in early September. That’s factually incorrect. Mr. Visa bought them for me. I hope someday to pay him back.
(The tickets for going to Iceland and Norway were surprisingly affordable. According to the New York Times, it’s once you arrive in Oslo, Norway that the money starts to hemorrhage from your pockets.)
The baby is going to Iceland too.
I would be worrying, already, about the logistics of air travel with an almost two-year-old, how I’ll manage to get all the interviews I need to get done done, the cold, the jet lag, and the fact that I don’t speak a word of Icelandic or Norwegian, but it’s been a sad week:
? We found out that James’s aunt’s cancer has returned in full force and that one of her lungs has collapsed;
? I heard from my dear friend Holly that her three-year-old will have to go under general anesthesia to have her decaying front teeth fixed, and also will need to be scheduled for another heart surgery soon.
? My good friend was sent back to jail on a non-specific parole violation with no explanation, put on ice in a cell and told nothing.
Then I started reading the summer New Yorker issue in which novelist Alexandar Hemon describes how doctors discover a cancerous tumor in his 9-month-old’s brain.
In light of this, my ridiculous worries (that my house won’t be clean enough for my aunt and Nobel-prize-winning uncle who are coming for dinner tonight, visiting from Brookline, that I won’t be able to fit enough cloth diapers in my carry-on for the two-week trip) seem so trivial and selfish that I won’t allow myself to indulge in them.
That was a long aside. The point is the baby and I are going to Iceland. And Norway.
I’ll be interviewing obstetricians and midwives and breastfeeding advocates and government officials to investigate why and how these countries have such positive maternal and fetal outcomes (unlike in the United States).
In Norway I’ll also visit the lab of one of the country’s best cell biologists, Morton Laane, and together we’ll look under a microscope at human breast milk and he’ll help me understand what we see.
Morten’s a photography buff and offered to take pictures, and also to film our microscopic encounters (you can see one of his photographs at #7 in this post). My publisher is hoping to include some digital backstory in the e-version of the book!
But I know embarrassingly little about each country and need a crash course. Watching movies is one of my favorite ways to get a window into a culture.
My friend Sandy recommended Elling, which looks delightful, but is not available on live-streaming.
So last night James and I watched Jar City, an Icelandic whodunit about a very nasty man found murdered in his very nasty bottom-floor apartment.
Jar City starts with a heartbreaking scene in the hospital where a young girl is sick.
Her father sits by her bedside and sings her a lullaby. Then the movie begins to follow the lonely detective, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, investigating the murder.
We see Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson eating the eyeball of a sheep with a Swiss Army knife, refusing to give his adult daughter money for drugs, and slowly piecing together the clues about the murder of a man that no one was sorry to see dead.
Dark as it was, I enjoyed every minute of the movie, and am looking forward to watching more.
Do you think movies are a good way to learn about other people? Do you have favorite foreign films that help you better understand other cultures? Any suggestions of good Icelandic or Norwegian movies or books?
Published: June 28, 2011
Updated: January 18, 2020
Related posts:
9 Things You May Not Know About Iceland
Norwegians Believe Spaying and Neutering is Cruel
How to Make Norwegian Flatbread (Agave Sweetened)
Living Large says
Funny, a friend and I were just discussing this subject this morning. As a Washington native, she was bemoaning the way she heard Seattle was portrayed in the new series, “The Killing.” It is always raining in that show and I don’t mean just dreary drizzle, but pouring buckets. I was bemoaning the way the Ozarks were portrayed in “Winter’s Bone,” you would think we are all squirrel hunting, Hill Billy meth addicts. So, I would say movies may be good in general, for a general sense of the culture, but I wonder if foreign films bow to the stereotypes of the people and places?
Melanie @ Frugal Kiwi says
I haven’t seen many Norwegian films but I did enjoy the original Norwegian version of Insomnia. I quite liked Stellan Skarsgård in that. Can’t think of any Icelandic films at all, just Dancer in the Dark which has Icelandic star Björk as the leading lady.
Vera Marie Badertscher says
My very favorite mystery writer (currently) is Norwegian–Jo Nesbo. Sadly, that is all that A Traveler’s Library has to contribute, but he is superb. I would suggest looking for English-language blogs and on line news from the two countries, though.
Kristen says
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an Icelandic film, but I do think movies can be one way to learn more about another country. I say can because as Living Large points out, sometimes the view is skewed.
Jane Boursaw says
What a fabulous trip! A couple Icelandic movies to check out:
No Bone No Skin: A Rock Band at Sea (a group of fishermen on a trawler form a rock band to pass the time): http://mubi.com/films/no-bone-no-skin
Summerland (elf tourism!): http://www.sumarlandid.is/
Roxanne says
I feel like a complete DOLT on subjects like this. So un-cosmopolitan of me … Therefore, I’ll just say I hope things start looking up in your life and those around you very soon. Been there, living that for far too long.
merr says
Wow, Jennifer – you have so much going on! I read this and was immediately drawn into everything. I am excited to hear about your book research.
Kerry says
to wildy different films come to mind, neither of them with contemporary settings but both to do with Norway: Kristin Lavransdatter (set in medieval times, but with contemporary points of view) and I Remember Mama, Norwegian immigrant family in US about 1910, I think.
films are the film maker’s abstract of his/her own point of view on a particular story, so — maybe useful, maybe not. what US movie would you advise someone to see to learn about the US?
James says
That’s an amusing way to re-think how we see the US, and how we present it on film. Every movie you can think of seems comically distorted. For some reason Beverly Hills Cop keeps coming to mind. But most of the world pictures life in the US mostly through its films–it’s a mythology, like the way people in the US think of European nobles and royals, based mainly on childhood fairy tales. Does the fantasy represent real everyday life?
Sheryl says
So many things for you to look forward to…and I’m sure that helps in light of the too-many recent sad events. Nice that you will be taking such an exciting trip soon; I’m sure you’ll learn so much between the sightseeing and all your meetings.
Casey@Good. Food. Stories. says
Is it weird that I would never think to use a movie to determine a sense of a place’s culture? Maybe it’s because of the way Pittsburgh/western PA is portrayed, or the kind of films that are set in the area (hello, post-apocalyptic cannibalism of The Road). We’ve been burned before. 🙂
Donna Hull says
I have no movies or book titles to contribute. But I think it’s awesome that you and Leone are going to Iceland and Norway. I’d be interested to learn how they deal with lack of sunshine in the winter and too much sun in the summer. It must really be hard on sleep patterns – especially children.
Abby says
I went to Iceland many years ago and had a wonderful month traveling around. I was there in June, and it was light almost all day and night. It was definitely hard to sleep. I loved all of the people I met, and the scenery is incredible. Some of the food is quite strange, but the Icelandic pancakes, gravlax, cheese, cakes, and ice cream are delicious.
I have a good friend from there. I’ll forward this post to her and see if she has some recommendations for movies or books. I haven’t seen Jar City, but I read the book awhile ago. Scandinavia is such a great setting for mysteries, but it struck me as funny to read about murder in a country with a homicide rate of zero.
jeanine barone says
Loved this post especially because Iceland is one of my specialties. Yet, I’ve never seen this movie. I have to get it through Netflix pronto.
Christine says
I cannot wait to hear about your trip to Iceland and Norway. The research sounds so fascinating and I can’t wait to read the results in your book.
When I went to Finland in late spring I noticed that many little children, even babies, were wearing sunglasses! A friend told me that’s quite common.
Sue says
Can’t wait to see how the trip goes!!! Hopefully there will be enough diapers. 🙂
I suggest reading Icelandic Food and Cookery. And any Icelandic Saga.
I hope your aunt’s visit went well, and that James’ aunt is ok!