This movie won't win any major awards. And that is largely why most awards suck, and should be ignored.

The lead performance from Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir (Lara) in this movie is one of the performances of the year. This is her first ever feature. She is brilliant. On to the Director - Isold Uggadottir, it is her first feature too. A really remarkable debut for someone who has just a handful of short films to her name.

It's a story about two women struggling in Iceland, both for very different reasons, both mothers trying to do the best thing for their children. Their stories intertwine and their decisions will have a major impact on both their lives and their children's lives. We see desperation to feed and shelter themselves, and although the subject matter sounds bleak, there is enough hope and determination in this film to make it a pleasurable experience. I was engaged and moved throughout.

It's an understated but perfectly paced film. It touches on the bond of motherhood, poverty, life choices, humanism, immigration and the goodness / evil of people in the Western world.

If there is a criticism it is that the third act is slightly fanciful, and the payoff can be seen coming. But that shouldn't detract from the film as a whole, because the journey to get to this point is completely satisfying. The film is yet to be released where I live but was released on Netflix USA in January 2019. So I'm calling it a 2019 film. And it's one of the best of the year.

7.9/10