Way back in the 6th Century Bce, the philosopher Thales of Miletus came up with the idea that everything is made out of water. It was a reasonable supposition, based on the fact that he seen water adjust and take the form of a solid, a liquid and a vapour. There are echoes of that theory in Helena Stefandottir’s Natatorium, in which ideas and themes are constantly shifting but liquid patterns of light and shimmering blue tones can be found throughout. From the fishbowl in a bedroom (whose unfamiliar shape clearly perplexes a young shubunkin with no acting skills) to the grey skies outside, the tap in the kitchen, the pool in the basement where unconscionable things take place. Everything here is fluid, threatening to subside at any time and drown those within.
Lilja has come to the city to audition for a role as a dancer, as a naiad in.
Lilja has come to the city to audition for a role as a dancer, as a naiad in.
- 3/14/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Bjartsýn films are thrilled to announce that the Icelandic thriller Natatorium by first-time feature director Helena Stefánsdóttir will have its North American Premiere at SXSW on 8th March 2024.
Natatorium is directed and written by Helena Stefánsdóttir produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn films and financed with support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation.
Natatorium follows eighteen-year-old Lilja who visits Áróra and Grímur, her estranged grandparents, in the city as she undergoes auditions for an international art performance group. When her father, Magnús and his younger sister Vala, two of Áróra’s and Grimur’s four children, find out about Lilja’s stay in the family house, a sense of panic arises. When the family gathers in the home to celebrate Lilja’s acceptance into the art group, a dark secret emerges, and soon a seemingly normal family celebration turns into a horrifying tragedy that nobody could have foreseen.
Natatorium is directed and written by Helena Stefánsdóttir produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn films and financed with support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation.
Natatorium follows eighteen-year-old Lilja who visits Áróra and Grímur, her estranged grandparents, in the city as she undergoes auditions for an international art performance group. When her father, Magnús and his younger sister Vala, two of Áróra’s and Grimur’s four children, find out about Lilja’s stay in the family house, a sense of panic arises. When the family gathers in the home to celebrate Lilja’s acceptance into the art group, a dark secret emerges, and soon a seemingly normal family celebration turns into a horrifying tragedy that nobody could have foreseen.
- 3/8/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
When, in the opening minutes of Natatorium, a fresh-faced teen arrives at a blocky modernist showplace of a house, it seems she’s checking in to a swanky Airbnb. But the well-appointed dwelling, where an oppressively dark glacial blue predominates, turns out to be the unwholesome home of the grandparents she hasn’t seen in years. Estrangement and silence are the guiding principles within this hermetically sealed universe, which, as the title of Helena Stefánsdóttir’s drama indicates, contains an indoor swimming pool. “Don’t go into the basement” would be a handy subtitle. Not that the upper floors offer much refuge.
In a movie that ultimately centers on a trinity of female kin at cross-purposes — visiting Lilja, her formidable grandmother and moderately rebellious aunt — the 18-year-old outsider is the catalyst for the revelations and unraveling to come. Traveling from her island home, Lilja (Ilmur María Arnarsdóttir) arrives in the city by bus,...
In a movie that ultimately centers on a trinity of female kin at cross-purposes — visiting Lilja, her formidable grandmother and moderately rebellious aunt — the 18-year-old outsider is the catalyst for the revelations and unraveling to come. Traveling from her island home, Lilja (Ilmur María Arnarsdóttir) arrives in the city by bus,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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