(Iceland 2015)

Despite an unexpected turn to more serious ground later, The Homecoming is a fun film overall. Empty nesters Gunnar Rafnsson (Hilmar Jónsson) and his wife Herdis (Harpa Arnardóttir) have great names and lead a comfortable but predictable upper middle class life. When their son, David (Hilmir Jensson), announces he is marrying his new girlfriend, Sunna (Þórunn Arna Kristjánsdóttir), who it turns out is also pregnant with their child, a couple of explosive family secrets surface and topple the relationship dynamics of all involved.

After a spate of heavy films, I was relieved to see a lighter one. The Homecoming is an interesting, well-paced story with a few surprising plot twists. It has wonderfully uncomfortable and hilarious scenes– particularly a dinner where the parents of the kids meet– and Sunna’s grandmother (Margrét Guðmundsdóttir) confronting Gunnar after a singing performance is a real treat. In the end, The Homecoming shows that we all can get past others’ transgressions if we really want to.

(AMC River East) B-

Chicago International Film Festival

http://www.icelandicfilms.info/films/nr/1554