Shortly before the Grímsvötn volcano erupted another Icelandic volcano had garnered considerable attention, the feature film Volcano by director Rúnar Rúnarsson which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13.

From Volcano.

Critics were impressed: Screen Daily called it simple and elegant and Variety a realistic drama with well-rounded characters and a tone reminiscent of the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, mbl.is reports.

Screen thought the film was splendid, praising the performance of the main actor, Theodór Júlíusson. He portrays Hannes, a grumpy old man who retires and feels as if nothing but emptiness awaits him. But when his wife is in an accident, he learns what really matters in life.

Thórir Snaer, one of the producers, was very satisfied with the reviews. “It has been such a long time since a film I produced received such good reviews that I can’t remember what it means, but I hope it will increase the possibility to sell it widely.”

Two years ago, Rúnarsson, the director, won a number of international awards for his short film Two Birds. Volcano is his first full-length feature film.

Click here to read more about the short film and here to watch a teaser from Volcano.