101 Reykjavik
Icelandic Baltasar Kormákur made his directorial debut with this outrageous black comedy.
Named after the city’s postcode, 101 Reykjavík tells the story of a slacker and alcoholic Hlynur (Hilmir Snær Guonason, seen in the 2021 Lamb).
His life of drinking and online porn is thrown into disarray when his mother (Hanna María Karlsdóttir) comes out as a lesbian and kicks Hlynur out of the house so she can have quality time with her pregnant lover, Lola (Victoria Abril of Almodóvar’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!).
The action takes place over the holidays season
It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason, and both are set in Reykjavík, Iceland. The title is taken from the postal code for the Miðborg district of central Reykjavík, the postal code being a common way to refer to the area.
The film won the Discovery Film Award at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival.
The film centers on Hlynur, a twentysomething slacker who still loves with his mother, Berglind. His mother’s Spanish flamenco teacher, Lola, moves in with the two for Christmas.
While his mother is away, Hlynur learns Lola is a lesbian. After a night of drinking, Hlynur and Lola end up having sex. When Berglind returns home, she discloses to Hlynur that she is also a lesbian and she is in love with Lola.
