"Godland" is about a Danish priest going to Iceland in order to build a church. After arriving in Iceland he has to embark on a journey full of hardships overland. When he finally arrives in the community the church is intended for, somebody asks him why he didn't came on land on a place much closer? Watching the movie I felt the need to ask the director a similar question. "Godland" is occasionally eye-catching and also quite long, but what does he actually want to say with the film? A Danish priest going to Iceland in the 19th century to build a church? Wasn't Iceland Christianized centuries earlier?
First a few things about the eye catching landscapes. When the priest says that the landscape of Iceland is terribly beautiful his Icelandic guide responds that indeed it is terrible and it is beautiful. The film "Godland" has, apart from "Godland", two other official names which emphasize how terrible the Icelandic landscape is. "Vanskabte land" (Danish) can be translated as deformed landscape, while Volade land (Icelandic) can be translated as "miserable land".
Coming back to the question what the director wanted to say with this film. Of course I don't know the answer for sure, but in my analysis the tension between Danish people and Icelandic people are a key element of the film. Until 1944 Iceland was not an independent state but a part of Denmark. The main characters of the film are a Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove), an Icelandic guide (Ingvar Sigurdsson) and a farmer (Jacob Lohmann) born in Denmark but emigrated to Iceland.
The Danish priest stands for rationality. This may sound a little strange for a priest, but the priest has come to Iceland with both a wooden cross and a camera, very heavy as they were in those days. The camera was meant to observe both the landscape and the people and thus stands for rationality and analysis. Of these two objects the camera survives the journey much longer then the cross.
The icelandic guide stands for saga's, pagan religion and mythical belief in general. These concrete stories and beliefs are much better adapted to the rough climate than scientific analysis and the rather abstract Christian faith.
There is some tension between the Danish priest and the Icelandic guide right from the beginning. At a pivotal moment in the film the priest decides to cross a river against the advise of his guide, with fatal consequences for one of the members of the crew. From then on the tension really becomes palpable.
First a few things about the eye catching landscapes. When the priest says that the landscape of Iceland is terribly beautiful his Icelandic guide responds that indeed it is terrible and it is beautiful. The film "Godland" has, apart from "Godland", two other official names which emphasize how terrible the Icelandic landscape is. "Vanskabte land" (Danish) can be translated as deformed landscape, while Volade land (Icelandic) can be translated as "miserable land".
Coming back to the question what the director wanted to say with this film. Of course I don't know the answer for sure, but in my analysis the tension between Danish people and Icelandic people are a key element of the film. Until 1944 Iceland was not an independent state but a part of Denmark. The main characters of the film are a Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove), an Icelandic guide (Ingvar Sigurdsson) and a farmer (Jacob Lohmann) born in Denmark but emigrated to Iceland.
The Danish priest stands for rationality. This may sound a little strange for a priest, but the priest has come to Iceland with both a wooden cross and a camera, very heavy as they were in those days. The camera was meant to observe both the landscape and the people and thus stands for rationality and analysis. Of these two objects the camera survives the journey much longer then the cross.
The icelandic guide stands for saga's, pagan religion and mythical belief in general. These concrete stories and beliefs are much better adapted to the rough climate than scientific analysis and the rather abstract Christian faith.
There is some tension between the Danish priest and the Icelandic guide right from the beginning. At a pivotal moment in the film the priest decides to cross a river against the advise of his guide, with fatal consequences for one of the members of the crew. From then on the tension really becomes palpable.