Metalhead (film)

Metalhead (Málmhaus) is a 2013 Icelandic drama film written and directed by Ragnar Bragason. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot
In the summer of 1983, twelve-year-old Hera Karlsdóttir lives a normal life on her family farm in a close-knit community. One afternoon, Hera witnesses her older brother Baldur fall off a tractor before his long hair is scalped by its blades. Baldur's parents drive him in their pickup truck to hospital, but he dies from his injury. At his funeral, Hera glares at a portrait of Jesus Christ on the wall and runs out of the church. After returning home, Hera enters Baldur's bedroom, where she picks up his guitar and starts playing. Upon glaring at the numerous posters of metal bands adorning his bedroom walls, Hera experiences an awakening. As a result, she burns all of her old clothes and adopts her brother's metal music and fashion.

Nine years later, Hera, now an adult, and her parents are still in shock over Baldur's death. Her mother and father, Droplaug and Karl, attempt to regain a sense of normalcy by participating in the village church choir, where they meet the new priest, Janus, who is rumored to be gay. Hera's lifestyle stands out amongst the community and is bullied by other youths, who call her a Satanist. She frequently gets into trouble, doing things such as playing her guitar too loudly in the house and drunkenly stealing her neighbor's tractor. At the insistence of her mother, Hera gets a job at a slaughterhouse, but is fired for playing metal music over the loudspeakers and scaring off the livestock. Hera accompanies her parents to a church sermon, but is told to leave for smoking inside. As she walks out and grieves over Baldur's grave, Janus tries reaching out to her, but she rebuffs him. Hera later attends a community ball, but is kicked out after trying to start a moshpit.

Hera's childhood friend Knútur comes with her as she returns home, where they have sex. Knútur tries to start a conversation with Hera afterwards, but she turns away and leaves the room. One morning, Hera dons corpse paint and herds all of her family's cattle out of the barn in the middle of winter. Later that night, Knútur comes over to her house to propose to her, but she rejects him and tosses the ring out of his hands. In the wake of Hera's behaviour, her parents invite Janus to their house for counseling. He agrees to help her, but then asks Karl and Droplaug about the state of their marriage. They initially refuse to talk about it, but Karl later breaks down, blaming himself for his son's death. Afterwards, Karl and Droplaug finally open up to each other and their relationship rapidly improves. When Hera returns home, she finds her parents drinking alcohol, listening to music, and laughing together to her surprise.

Janus reaches out to Hera again, but she continues to resist. Hera claims that Christians would not understand her music, but Janus reveals his Eddie tattoo to her, admitting that he is secretly a fan of metal music. They start having a friendly discourse on the topic, but when Janus tries talking to Hera on an emotional level, she attempts to seduce him, causing him to leave. One night, Hera watches a news report about the black metal scene in Norway and the arson attacks against several churches associated with it. Mesmerized, she records a black metal demo of her own and sends a copy of the tape to the post office. As Janus continues reaching out to Hera, she shows him her metal recordings. One night, Hera comes over to his house and begins exhibiting romantic feelings for him, but he confesses that he does not feel mutually about her.

Emotionally estranged, Hera sets fire to the community church and runs away from home. Gathering supplies and a gun, she heads off into the nearby mountains to stay in a hunting shack. However, as she could not survive for long there, she returns home. Upon entering her house, Hera walks in on a town meeting, where she breaks down and is forgiven by her neighbors and friends. As they discuss reconciliation for her actions, the townspeople reveal they will not release her identity as the arsonist. Hera offers to pay for the damage to the church herself, but out of empathy and realism, the townspeople decide they will all repay and repair it together. Hera then moves in with Knútur and his family, but is pushed into giving up metal altogether.

Hera begins wearing regular clothing for the first time since childhood and becomes "normal", but she is unhappy. One morning, three men from Norway make a surprise visit for Hera at her house. The men had come across her demo on the tape trading scene in Oslo and, highly impressed with it, want to release it on their record label. When they enquire about her "band", Hera says that she recorded the demo on her own. Later that day, Droplaug talks to Hera and, perceiving her discontent, tells her that it is important for her to be happy. After rebuilding the church with the townspeople, Hera goes for a car ride with Knútur and the Norwegians. Hera steps out with Knútur and apologizes to him, telling him that she loves him but not romantically. However, an enraged Knútur confronts her for mistreating him and leaves.

Some time later, Hera, once again clad in heavy metal attire, forms a band with the Norwegians and performs for the entire town. They try playing her black metal song, but the audience cannot tolerate her vocals and the band stops playing it. They start covering Lynyrd Skynyrd instead, which the audience responds enthusiastically to, but the band decides not to continue playing it. They ultimately play a modified version of the black metal song with clean vocals, satisfying both the audience and the band. The next morning, Droplaug joins Hera in her bedroom and plays Megadeth on her sound system, where the two begin dancing wildly. Overhearing the music, Karl walks in and dances with them, the trio now finally bonding as a family.

Cast

 * Thora Bjorg Helga as Hera Karlsdóttir
 * Diljá Valsdóttir as 11-year-old Hera
 * Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Karl, Hera's father
 * Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir as Droplaug, Hera's mother
 * Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson as Janus, the new priest
 * Hannes Óli Ágústsson as Knútur, Hera's fiancé
 * Mikael Kaaber as 11-year-old Knútur
 * Þórunn Arna Kristjánsdóttir as Elsa, Hera's childhood friend
 * Urður Heimisdóttir as 11-year-old Elsa
 * Óskar Logi Ágústsson as Baldur, Hera's brother
 * Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson as Einar
 * Magnús Ólafsson as Erlingur
 * Hilmar Wollan III as Øystein
 * Ole Erik Furu as Yngve
 * Sigrún Edda Björnsdóttir as Anna
 * Pétur Einarsson as Traveller

Reception
Metalhead was well received by critics, earning a rating of "90% fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.