THE LOVE THAT REMAINS Trailer: Hlynur Pálmason’s Compassionate Drama Captures a Fractured Family Living & Loving

Following his magnificently bleak period piece Godland, writer-director Hlynur Pálmason offers a reprieve from the overcast skies of human despair with his compassionate new family drama, The Love That Remains. Set in his native Iceland and shot on 35mm film in the 4:3 aspect ratio, it follows a family of six over the course of one year as the parents separate. It stars Saga Garðarsdóttir, Sverrir Guðnason, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Þorgils Hlynsson, Grímur Hlynsson, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, and Panda the Icelandic sheepdog (winner of the Palme Dog at this year’s Cannes). Following screenings at TIFF and NYFF, Janus Films will release Iceland’s Oscar entry in theaters January 30.

I wrote in my NYFF review, “With The Love That Remains, Hlynur Pálmason has accomplished the rare feat of making a slice-of-life dramedy with the right amounts of beauty and mysticism. While comparable to films like The Squid and the Whale and Boyhood, which show the nasty effects of a family fracturing, Pálmason’s fourth feature shows how unconditional tenderness can bring people together and conjure a sense of hope even in the most random circumstances. He doesn’t give concrete answers as to how Anna and Magnús’ marriage will turn out, or if the characters will find peace and acceptance, but that uncertainty is what life itself is. Through experiencing both the good and tough times, you’ll walk out feeling soothed and with a reminder not to take the important things for granted. The entire ensemble knocks it out of the park in their respective roles, and Pálmason shows his versatility as a filmmaker with this meditative and life-affirming feature.”

As the official synopsis reads:

Anna, an artist, and Magnús, a fisherman, live with their three children and charismatic sheepdog in the quiet grandeur of the Icelandic countryside. As the fractures in their marriage come to the surface, the couple try to hold onto the afterimages of a life together and make sense of a deep and lingering devotion. Filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (Godland) brings surprising humor and emotional weight to this gorgeous, intimate, and brilliantly expansive scenes from a marriage, amidst the majestic backdrop of the changing seasons.

Check out the trailer and poster below.

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