17 year old Nói drifts through life on a remote fjord in Iceland. In winter, the fjord is cut off from the outside world, surrounded by ominous mountains and buried under a shroud of snow. Nói dreams of escaping from this white-walled prison with Íris, a city girl who works in a local gas station. But his clumsy attempts at escape spiral out of control.
A better-than- average tale of teenage angst that balances its tone between sorrow and buoyant good cheer.
– Colin Covert,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
27 May 2004
fresh:
If you see only one quirky coming-of-age movie set on a remote Icelandic fiord this year, make it Noi.
– Scott Von Doviak,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com,
21 May 2004
fresh:
Who can resist a movie set in a town where the natural history museum, filled with stuffed polar bears and such, is 'the wildest place in town'?
– G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
7 May 2004
rotten:
Kari may eventually go far, but for now he's one of the less interesting inhabitants of international art cinema's disaffected-youth ghetto.
– Mark Jenkins,
Washington Post,
30 Apr 2004
fresh:
As a drama, Noi seems as cold as the icy land in which it takes place. But it still offers a glimpse into a rarely seen world, and more adventurous moviegoers will find it eye-opening.