No Such Thing (2001)

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 2002 (Iceland)

Genre:

Horror | Drama | Fantasy | Comedy

Tagline:

A modern day fable.

Plot:

"No Such Thing" tells the story of a young journalist who journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancée only to encounter a mythical creature. She eventually forges a relationship with the being.

Plot Keywords:

Airplane Accident | Alcoholism | Crutch | Exploitation | Fire Breathing

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Margrét Ákadóttir	...	Rental agent
Robert John Burke	...	The Monster
Julie Anderson	...	Beautician
Sarah Polley	...	Beatrice
Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir	...	Sólveig
Ilene Bergelson	...	Ethel
Guðrún María Bjarnadóttir	...	Marta (as Guðrún Bjarnadóttir)
Bessi Bjarnason	...	Captain
Helgi Björnsson	...	Leó
Julie Christie	...	Dr. Anna
Stacy Dawson	...	Mugger
Maria Ellingsen	...	Karlsdóttir / Gate-Manager (as María Ellingsen)
Anthony Giangrande	...	Journalist
Erica Gimpel	...	Judy
Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson	...	First mate

Also Known As:

Monster (USA) (working title)
Skrímsli (Iceland)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief violence.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Iceland | USA

Language:

English | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Burke described to Fangoria Magazine that he once decided to walk through downtown NYC in his Monster make-up, and no one gave him a second glance.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The ship which rescues Beatrice from the plane crash at sea gives its position as 45.72 (degrees) W, 38.50 N, which is nowhere near Iceland or any Great Circle flight path between New York and Europe, for that matter.

Quotes:

The Boss: The world needs to know!
Beatrice: Why?
The Boss: What?
Beatrice: Why does the world need to know how it feels to crash into the sea?

Movie Connections:

References Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

"Where has the Monster gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I."

To paraphrase Nietzsche just because it fits well with the theme. A monster/demon is hiding from the harsh realities of living ad infinitum in an unfinished American missile on Iceland and boy is he depressed and angry! The remote villagers try to calm him down by sacrificing brennevin (liquer) and the odd visitor to him. When an aspirant journalist comes to search for her lost boyfriend this is what happens to her as well.

What a wonderful humour Hal Hartley deposit, it's constantly bubbling throughout this movie, the references to movies and real-life incidents are aplenty and always tongue-in-cheek. The critics who dismissed this are either giving up being a honest "objective" film critic or angry because they couldn't pigeonhole Hartley. A future classic.