Noi Albinoi review

It's grim up north in this bitter(ly cold) Icelandic drama about a 17-year-old albino, Nói (Tómas Lemarquis).

A bald, dysfunctional, Rubik's-cube-solving genius, the egghead adolescent frustrates everyone with his lack of interest in school. Or, indeed, life in general - all he wants to do is hang around in the local bookshop. But when he meets beautiful city girl Iris (Elin Hansdóttir), who suddenly gives meaning to his existence, Nói decides to run away with her to the golden beaches of Hawaii...

Director Dagur Kári's black comedy mixes the slacker quirkiness of Icelandic films like 101 Reykjavík with plenty of bleak locations and some blue-tinged cinematography. As Nói visits the local fortune teller (who has nothing but bad news for him), steals cars and tries to hold up the town bank with a shotgun, the ensuing tragedy is inevitable. But that's the point and Kári's keen eye for the offbeat - not to mention his affection for his engaging, disgruntled anti-hero - keeps the storyline from thawing out before its time is up.