Godland

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Godland

Released Feb 3, 2023

2h 23m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

71 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.

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Critics Consensus

Necessarily bleak but shot through with moments of humor, the beautifully filmed Godland serves as a gently absorbing meditation on mortality.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Like all the best movies, we can’t tell where this is going. When it arrives, the finale is worthy of all that has come before. Nobody makes movies like this any more -- except that some do.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 17, 2023

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Whelan Barzey

Time Out

You’d be hard pressed to find a more immersive Winter Wonderland experience than Godland.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2023

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

It's an unforgettable movie yet one whose meanings seem to lie just beyond reach, and it marks the arrival of a new filmmaker whose roots tap into something unfathomably old.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 23, 2023

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William Stottor

Loud and Clear Reviews

Hlynur Palmáson again draws out the beauty and formidability of the Icelandic landscape in Godland, a journey of intense soul-searching and religious doubt.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 13, 2024

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Godland is like an exquisite neoclassical painting: its drawn subject may not always convince and may even perplex with its metaphorical ambiguity, but the painting’s overall theme and its master’s brushstrokes still simply awe.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 28, 2024

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Kristian M. Lin

Fort Worth Weekly

Hove portrays the priest who loses his faith from the isolation and his inability to communicate with the locals. The landscape and Maria von Hausswolff's cinematography bring those qualities home.

Mar 18, 2024

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Oleksii S

Unbelievable, atmospheric colors. Slow burn with multiple explosions in the end. Everything in its right place.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

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Grant H

If you like overly long, lingering shots of desolate Icelandic countryside then this is the film for you. It's bleak, joyless and could have been pared back from its 2 hour 20 minute length. Tough going.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

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JR C

Another tragic tale set in a sleepy, picturesque village—I am all for it. Some will find its pace too slow and quiet but I drifted with it, frame by frame, one stir at a time. Let the contexts on colonialism do the clamor through Elliott Crosset Hove's performance. And Maira von Hausswolff - The Academy may have snubbed you but not me. Your work, especially in Godland, blew me away and right off the hills of Iceland. The framing and the beauty in every still shot and panning. You put the godland in Godland. Just beautiful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

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Audience Member

Stunning film worth watching

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Audience Member

truly a masterful piece of filmmaking, that is very much recommended for any lover of film, and one of the best films of the year to be sure!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This one is the real thing. Don't miss it. It's as close to a masterpiece as we're likely to get this year.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

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Hlynur Pálmason

Director

Elliott Crosset Hove

Lucas

Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson

Ragnar

Vic Carmen Sonne

Anna

Jacob Lohmann

Carl

Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir

Ida

Godland: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.

Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Producer: Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen, Mikkel Jersin, Anton Máni Svansson
Screenwriter: Hlynur Pálmason, Hlynur Pálmason
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Snowglobe, Join Motion Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 3, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $60.1K
Runtime: 2h 23m

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