Either Way

Two highway maintenance men in the barren wilderness of 1980s Iceland find themselves at a figurative crossroads in the small but beguiling character-driven dramedy Either Way. Wisely employing the harshly beautiful landscape as the third principal character, tyro helmer Sigurðsson highlights human vulnerability and the struggle to create something meaningful and lasting. Representing two different types of manhood, Finnbogi (co-writer Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) and callow, hot-to-trot Alfred (Hilmar Guðjónsson) gall each other as they perform their hard labor far from other human contact. Ultimately, their barely civil tolerance evolves into real friendship as they support each other through romantic travails. The gorgeous visuals favor long takes, wide frames and moving shots that allow the thesping to carry the story. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)