Synopsis
Europe’s second biggest island, Iceland, is mostly uninhabitable due to the artic deserts, volcanoes and perpetual snowfields that cover most of it. Iceland is a sharp contrast of fire and ice. The population of just under 300,000 is mostly direct descendents of Norwegian and Celtic settlers who first arrived in the 9th century. However, even in 21st century, the population of Iceland has held steadfast to the Norse mythology and accompanying mysticism of the first settlers. Gaining recognition with the sex oriented The Thousand Wonders of the Universe (1997); French director Jean-Michel Roux interviews a cross section of Icelandic society. Everyone from public servants, police, fisherman, artists and children who reaffirm their adamant belief in the Norse mythology driven parallel universe of elves, trolls, ghosts and spirits of the dead who live in cracks of the earth. They even explain how these ‘creatures’ contribute and assist in the everyday life of Icelanders. Roux’s dramatic shots of the exotic Icelandic landscape are accompanied by an otherworldly musical ambience, crafting a film with ‘one foot in National Geographic and the other in the Lord of the Rings’. A sideways affinity with the shamanism inspired documentary Yong Mae (2002), directed PARK Ki-bok, Investigation into the Invisible World is an amusing anthropological documentary masterpiece. (KIM Sang-hoon)