Birds (and Books)

Yesterday we left Bókin a little early for the Reykjavík premiere of Fuglar (og menn) /Amongst the Birds at Smárabíó, invited by Ari’s friend Ingvar Þórðarson, the film’s producer and co-director.

What a wonderful film! Heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved, and a huge recommendation to everybody: go and watch it! Witty, tender, and so wonderfully photographed that many of its stills could stand as works of art in their own right, beautifully framed to capture the impressive Icelandic landscape and accompanied by equally lovely music. We laughed (and nearly cried…) and, along the way, learned quite a lot about nature!

Have a look at the trailer here.

At the heart of the film are Ólafur and Jóhanna, who have cared for an extraordinary eider colony for more than twenty years, joined by friends and family. Their closeness to nature, practical knowledge and almost philosophical view of life are wonderful to watch: people who read the weather and birds, make and mend things, recite Icelandic poetry and, while standing outside in the cold hanging old CDs on lines to keep predators away, speak of Mozart as the most beautiful music in the world. And through it all runs a wonderfully dry humour, sometimes needing no words at all.

Naturally, the title Fuglar (og menn) made me think of Steinbeck’s Mýs og menn / Of Mice and Men. Perhaps it is only the title, but some of the themes feel familiar too: friendship, life close to the land, and people depending on one another. And once the mind starts thinking of books, it is never far back to the shelves at Bókin, especially with the many bird books that are waiting in there.

Birds, after all, have always had a special place in Icelandic life and imagination. According to Landnámabók, the medieval Book of Settlements, Hrafna-Flóki took three ravens with him to help find Iceland; the third flew ahead, and he followed it to land. Al great bird is also one of Iceland’s four landvættir, the guardian spirits of the country. And when the golden plover returns each year, Icelanders know that spring cannot be far away - a moment kept forever in Páll Ólafsson’s Lóan er komin…

And then, of course, there is Benedikt Gröndal’s fantastic Íslenskir fuglar, with its beautiful bird paintings and observations, and Guðmundur Páll Ólafsson’s magnificent Fuglar í náttúru Íslands, where natural history meets photography, folklore and literature.

Which reminds me of a university class I once took in Icelandic cultural studies. Our professor was discussing Iceland’s historical symbols and asked which bird held a special place in the country’s traditions. A fellow student answered promptly and with complete confidence:

“The puffin.”

Which is perhaps understandable after a walk down Laugavegur, but maybe it is overdue to broaden the world’s view on Icelands rich birdlife again. ;-)
So while the puffin has done excellent work for Icelandic tourism, I like that films such as Fuglar (og menn) open the door to a much richer view of Icelandic life and nature. And after everything we learned about the amazing æðarfugl, we are quite ready to promote the eider duck as Iceland’s new symbolic bird. ;-)

And should the film leave you wanting to know even more about birds, step in from the Reykjavík autumn rain and visit us at Bókin. We have plenty of beautiful bird books waiting to be picked up. ;-)