Award-winning XL by Marteinn Thorsson released on HULU
” … a nightmare that’s alternately funny and horrifying, building to the perfect climax.” The Huffington Post
NEW YORK - A no-holds barred portrait of the corruption that sank Iceland’s economy a few years ago, XL follows the adventures of politician Leif Sigurdarson (Olafur Darri Olafsson). Party hound, boozer, womanizer, ex-family man, Leif is sent to rehab by his friend, the prime minister. On his last night before rehab he throws a goodbye party for his closest ones, including Erik, a business partner and underworld kingpin, Christina, his lawyer and loyal advisor, and Æsa, his young lover – and his daughter´s best friend. Shot with vibrant cinematography conveying Leif’s distorted view of reality, XL explores this colorful mess of entangled interests, backstabbing and media manipulation.
XL, which won Olafur Darri Olafsson the Best Actor award in Karlovy Vary this summer, is released in the US with the help of VOD aggregator Kinonation. “It is a great honour to be a part of this 21st century mode of distribution spearheaded by Kinonation and to work with the great people of Hulu,” says Xl director Marteinn Thorsson. “A small film like ours now has the chance to reach a much wider audience than just a few years ago”.
Lead actor Olafur Darri Olafsson won the Best Actor at the world premiere of the film in Karlovy Vary’s competition section earlier this year. Having starred in last year’s Oscar entry for Iceland, Baltasar Kormukar’s THE DEEP, his upcoming projects are THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY directed by Ben Stiller (Christmas 2013), A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, starring Liam Neeson, directed by Scott Frank (Spring 2014), TRUE DETECTIVES (HBO) starring Matthew McConaghey and Woody Harrelson, directed by Cary Fukunaga (January 2014). Olafus is currently shooting LINE OF SIGHT, a pilot for AMC, directed by Jonathan Demme.
A graduate of Film Studies from Toronto’s Ryerson University, director Marteinn Thorsson debuted with his feature ONE POINT O (a.k.a. Paranoia: 1.0) starring Jeremy Sisto, Deborah Unger and Udo Kier, which premiered in Sundance’s Dramatic Competition in 2004 and landed him a place in Variety’s Ten Directors To Watch list. Thorsson’s second feature, ROKLAND, is still touring the festival circuit and stars XL’s lead actor Olafur Darri Olafsson as an outcast in a small town. That part landed Olafur Darri the Best Actor Award at the Icelandic Edda Awards in 2011.
Praise for XL:
Screen International: “Icelandic film XL is a mesmerising mélange of chaotic images and is intriguing and provocative.”
The Huffington Post: ” … a nightmare that’s alternately funny and horrifying, building to the perfect climax.”
Empire: “… a seriously dark black comedy.”
The Hollywood Reporter “The Hangover Parts 4, 5, 6 and 7.”
Film Comment: “…XL very effectively simulates the disorientation of a permanently intoxicated mind. Ólafur Ólafsson, who received the Best Actor award for his performance, plays the rampaging Leifur with magnetic brio—a reprehensible and thoroughly pitiable character, stuck emptily chasing extremes.”
Twitch: “XL is an ugly film, a dirty film, a film that you almost need to take a shower after wallowing in all the filth within. It’s not a film for everyone, for sure, but it’s above all a good film. Seek it out when possible.”