Author: - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Out of Thin Air: Documentary Charts Alleged Murder & The End Of Innocence

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On January 25, 1974, 18-year-old Guðmundur Einarsson disappeared without a trace. His body was never found, which caused great consternation…

North Of The Wall: A Game of Thrones Tour Of Iceland

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The Iron Island clan in ‘Game of Thrones’ are based on the Vikings from Nordic history—but they are both more…

The Nordic House: Reminding Us Of What We Aren’t

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The Nordic House was built in Reykjavík in 1968 to prove that Iceland is indeed one of the Nordic Countries….

Blast from the Past: The Ghosts of Höfði

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So, they‘ve met. Not in Reykjavik as we had all hoped, but in Hamburg. Last time the leaders of East…

Öskjuhlíð: The Pearl of Reykjavík

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To many, Perlan (“the Pearl”) looks like a giant nipple, a feminine counterpart to the phallic symbolism of the Hallgrímskirkja…

Crisis? What Crisis? The Icelandic Tourism Industry Teeters

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In late June, Icelandair reported that it had laid off 20% of its pilots. A few weeks later, it reported…

Bíó Paradís Brings Back The 80s

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Theresa May is the new Thatcher. Trump is the new Reagan. Empires are dying in Afghanistan. East-West tensions are running…

Blast From The Past: Introducing Icelandic Wrestling At The Olympics

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These days, it seems you can hardly open a paper without news of some Icelandic sporting victories abroad (and do…

Only Mildly Scary: Horror and Icelandic Cinema

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On the face of it, Iceland sounds like fertile ground for horror. There are many places where it’s possible to…

The Sound And The Fury: Rammstein Come To Kópavogur

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The German language, usually ranked alongside algebra and hangovers as one of the main tormentors of secondary school existence, became…

Blast from the Past: When Contraception Came To Iceland

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STDs are on the rise, and the Health Minister has set up a working group which will have delivered their…

Strangers In A Strange Land: The Female German Farmer Invasion Of 1949

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It’s strange to think that refugees and economic migrants used to come to Iceland in search of a better life…

The Future is Coming: Electric Cars In Iceland

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Iceland almost always gets better press than it deserves, and this applies not least to environmental issues. While most of…

Blast from the Past: Farmers vs. Phones

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It is a tale often recounted to illustrate the backwardness of Icelandic farmers in times past: that time they rode…

The Last Free Thinker: Polish Cinema At Bíó Paradís

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It’s 1945 and the struggle against totalitarianism is just beginning. While the people of Western Europe celebrate the end of…

Blast from the Past: Reykjavík Brothel Shares for Sale

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Everyone knows Ólafur Ólafsson, the man who stole a whole bank during the privatisation rush of the early 2000s by…

Moonage Daydreams: Halldór Eldjárn and Hidden Figures

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For eons, mankind dreamed of going to the moon. And we did, but now the memory seems to be slipping…

Blast From The Past: The First Icelandic Sci-Fi

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It seems that every space film these days, from ‘Prometheus’ to ‘Oblivion’ to ‘Star Wars’, is shot in Iceland. But…

‘The Apes of Wrath’: Spotting the references in ‘Kong: Skull Island’

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If, like me, you felt the only thing missing from ‘Apocalypse Now’ was a big-ass monkey, well, my friend, we…

Blast From The Past: Reykjavík Tarzan Arrested For Nudity

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In early 1943, observant Reykvíkingar might have seen a naked man running past their window and even, on occasion, climbing…

Blast from the Past: Boycotting the Girls of Siglufjörður

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This March 19 marked the 75th anniversary of the Great Boycott of Siglufjörður women, by the men of said town….

Blast from the Past: The Comedy Ban of 1940

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Like most countries, Iceland has a long and illustrious history of censorship. A fun example can be found in the…

The Battle Over Beer

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Iceland’s Parliament is currently debating whether to allow alcohol to be sold in supermarkets, and everyone has a strong opinion…

Stockfish Festival: History Comes Alive in Bíó Paradís

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It probably says something about the zeitgeist that, as with the German Film Days, some of the most powerful films…

Learning From War: The German Film Festival Tackles Tough Questions

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If there is any theme to this year’s German film days, it is war. Or rather, the consequences of war….