Driving Mum

When his dear old mother passes away, middle-aged Jon (Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson) is left with nothing. He can only honor his mother's last wish and take her from the small cottage on a tourist trip around Iceland's attractions. The final destination of the tour is to bury her in the graves of their hometown. During the road trip, there is a dialogue between the living and the dead, encounters with peculiar wanderers and other disillusioned individuals, and ultimately, Jon begins to understand his mother's background better. This darkly humorous tale explores family relationships as both a barrier to one's own flourishing and an excuse to go and experience things on one's own. The black-and-white depiction of Iceland's beautiful and rugged landscapes is reminiscent of the mythical film The Juniper Tree, and it includes quirky homages to the likes of Fellini and Ingmar Bergman's classic The Seventh Seal.