Two Birds (film)

Two Birds (Smáfuglar)

"TWO BIRDS, A FILM BY RÚNAR RÚNARSSON" appears below a photograph of two young, unclothed adolescents, a boy and a girl, shown from the shoulders up. They are gazing into each others eyes. The boy is facing towards the camera, so all but the right edge of his face is visible. His expression is solemn. The girl is on the left side of the picture, with her body at a right angle to the camera and her head turned to her left to face toward the boy. Therefore, we can see only her right ear, her right cheek, and little bits of her right shoulder and of her hair. The two of them have pale skin and dark blond hair. The background behind the boy's head and shoulders is dark gray. The name of the film is in large white letters, which run off the left and right edges of the picture. The rest of the caption is in smaller, dark gray letters, and below it are five lines of additional film credits in very small dark gray letters. All the lines of writing are on a beige background, which blends into their skin.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Produced by
  • Þórir S. Sigurjónsson
  • Skúli Fr. Malmquist
  • Hlín Jóhannesdóttir
Written by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Starring
Music by Kjartan Sveinsson
Cinematography Sophia Olsson
Edited by Jacob Schulsinger
Production
company
Release dates
  • October 3, 2008 (2008-10-03)
Running time
 15 minutes
Country Iceland
Language Icelandic

Two Birds (Icelandic: Smáfuglar, lit. little birds) is a 2008 Icelandic short film, written and directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson. Its official tag line describes it as “A group of young teenagers on a journey from innocence to the stark reality of adulthood.”[1] In the two years after its release it received over 60 awards at film festivals where it was exhibited, including seven Grand Prize awards, seven Best Director awards and two Best Actor awards to male lead Atli Óskar Fjalarsson.[1][2]

Plot summary

The main characters of Two Birds are a boy (unnamed) and a girl (Lara), both in their early-to-mid-teens. In the opening scene, they are shown shyly exchanging flirtatious glances, while out walking with another boy and girl, who are in a romantic relationship. In a private moment, the male member of this couple urges the boy to talk to the girl, telling him that Lara is strongly attracted to him and berating him for being timid. However, the boy's shyness prevents him from making advances.

The four of them wind up at a party, where most of the guests are older than they are. At the party, the boy's friend obtains Ketamine pills, which they all take. The drug causes the boy to alternate between unconsciousness and a conscious but dissociated mental state. During one such brief period of consciousness, he sees two naked men sexually assaulting the girl, who is naked and unconscious from the drug. One is engaged in intercourse with her, while the other watches and masturbates, presumably awaiting his turn. (The rapist and the girl are shown from the waist up, while the waiting man is shown in full view.) Although the boy sees this, the drug's effects prevent him from taking any action, and he soon drifts back into unconsciousness.

When the boy regains consciousness again, it is morning, and the house is deserted except for the naked, sleeping girl. After thinking, the boy undresses and lies down next to her, waiting until she wakes up. When she awakens and sees their condition, she concludes that the two of them had intercourse in the night, which makes her happy. In the film's final minute, she shyly asks the boy, “Was I good?” He nods, and she hugs him and says, "I'm glad it was with you." (This last line is heard in the Icelandic soundtrack, but is not shown in the English subtitles.) The viewer is left free to speculate about whether, when, and how she learns from him what really happened.

Director's statement

Directors statement for Two Birds: "People at crossroads in their lives interest me. The questions they are confronted with, in balance with the choices they have. I wanted to make a film about adolescents and love, a boy becoming a man."[3]

Cast

Critical reception

The website Short of the Week describes Two Birds as "...perhaps the purest and most earnest 15 minutes of film I have ever experienced."[4]

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.icelandicfilms.info/films/nr/379
  2. ↑ http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news//Icelandic_Short_Films_Breaks_World_Award_Record_0_335776.news.aspx
  3. ↑ http://shortsbay.com/film/2-birds
  4. ↑ McNally, James. "Smáfuglar (2 Birds) by". Short of the Week. Retrieved 13 July 2013.

External links

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