The Vernon Film Society will be showing the road trip movie Land Ho! at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday.
This official selection for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival follows the journey that two former brothers-in-law take through Iceland.
After forced retirement, former surgeon Mitch (newcomer Earl Lynn Nelson) shows up on the recently divorced Colin’s (Paul Eenhoorn, This is Martin Bonner) doorstep with two tickets for an all expenses paid trip to Iceland.
Mitch has planned a busy itinerary: luxury hotels, indulgent spas, some picturesque hiking, trendy nightclubs and renowned restaurants. This is all in the interest of helping him and his long-time pal escape the monotony of their everyday lives back home in America.
They are both in their 60s and are somewhat disenchanted with where they have ended up, somewhat lost and facing loneliness in their aging years.
Brash, unruly Mitch and the forlorn, mild-mannered Colin make an unlikely pair in this picaresque adventure from trendy Reykjavik to rugged outback – a throwback to classic bawdy road comedies, as well as a candid exploration of aging, loneliness and friendship.
The spectacular scenery of Iceland provides the backdrop to their wandering as they mull over art, baffle over molecular gastronomy, and skip from lighthouses to lighting up.
Writer/directors Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song) and Aaron Katz (Cold Weather) further establish themselves as leading lights of contemporary American independent film making.
In his review, Justin Chang of Variety said, “(Land Ho! is) a bawdy bittersweet ode to friendship’s lasting joys and life’s inevitable regrets.”
The film is in English and is rated PG for some coarse and sexual language.
Land Ho! will be shown at the Towne Cinema Monday at 5:15 and 7:45 p.m. All tickets are $7 and are available one week in advance at the theatre and the Bean Scene, or at the door.
