Agnes Joy

A mother’s and a daughter’s desires for change propels a family into emotional chaos, portrayed with comic stringency.

Rannveig is uncomfortable at work and feels that her marriage is running on fumes. Her 18-year-old daughter Agnes, who is always at home, is rebellious and wants to get away from the sleepy village that is situated beyond the reach of Reykjavik. When a male actor moves into the house next door, he quickly becomes the target of both the mother’s and the daughter’s needs to realize themselves. With sensible precision, the director Silja Hauksdóttir has created an alluring and entertaining family drama, where mother and daughter both find themselves at different breaking points in their lives.

• Tobias Åkesson