Beautiful Beings

A very good social drama from Iceland, for me the third strongest moment of this year's KVIFF. The film follows a group of teenage misfits whose unruly behaviour stems from their dismal family circumstances, yet they occasionally flash glimpses of humanity and kindness. Beautiful Creatures' plot twists, relatively familiar from films about troubled young people, are spiced up with an esoteric motif that adds a unique atmosphere, and it’s also used to build up a rather unpleasant sense of anticipation of some inevitable catastrophe that the action is likely to lead to. In the final act it kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending actually surprises in this respect and offers a different type of catharsis than I expected. (56th KVIFF) (10/07/2022)

Beautiful Beings is a prime example of unruly youth growing up in less-than-peaceful family environments. This theme is probably relevant across many European countries. However, this time it's tackled by Icelanders, though the landscapes don’t particularly stand out. What does stand out are the raw emotions: sadness, depression, and the despair of a seemingly meaningless life. (07/02/2023)

This is nothing for lovers of the Icelandic countryside, which goes practically unseen here. The story could have been set in a similar slum/industrial area on the outskirts of Manchester. The friendship between teenagers at a time of rising violence and bullying among young people is often cruel and bleak, but also balanced by the support between them and their protectiveness. Though Beautiful Beings is not very original in terms of theme or execution, it is dramatically intense. [KVIFF] (03/07/2022)

The Siegers of an Icelandic housing estate or another grim and harsh film from the North. A film about friendship and during extreme situations. Here meet the lead character Balli, bullied at school, ignored at home, living a miserable life in squalor, who out of pity is taken under the wing of young Addi and his gang, whose transformation over the course of the film is unreal. Addi acts rational and grows up, Konni is a bully and the biggest scumbag and Siggi is a freak. We follow the teenage troubles as they go on crazy adventures and it's raw, naturalistic, uncomfortable, but also heartbreaking and sad at times. The film builds on great child performances, strong social commentary, and the unglamorous setting of Reykjavik full of strange individuals and underprivileged families. The film isn't afraid of bullying, violence, fights, drugs and there was even a rape of a boy by a boy, so it is definitely a powerful thing that won't leave just anyone cold. The finale is properly shocking. 8/10. (02/12/2022)

The North is on point again. Nordic have a flair for these social dramas about children, and this one is uncompromisingly hard-hitting, atmospherically suffocating and during one pivotal scene I was downright sick and anxious. It may be two hours long, but there's always something to watch, the fights between the kids' groups are hard and bloody, the central characters are properly "Nordic" (god, these kids are probably born there with a predisposition for A-list and realistic acting, otherwise I really don't know how it's possible to give this performance at their age...) and there’s also a proper ending. All in all, I'm simply impressed and I'm giving it a full score, suffocating and visually dirty drama like this don’t come out very often. (27/01/2023)