Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comedic road movie is a bewitching 1980-set odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance through beautifully photographed Icelandic landscapes.

Middle-aged and disappointed, Jón (Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson) spends his days knitting and listening to the radio with his domineering elderly mother (Kristbjörg Kjeld) on their rural Icelandic farmstead.

With his life taken over looking after his home and his mother’s needs, Jón’s isolated world is upended when she suddenly passes away. To honour her final wishes and a series of instructions she left to follow upon her death, Jón sets out on a journey across Iceland – including being

Strapping mum into his Ford Cortina, and with the beloved (and scene-stealing) family dog Brezhnev in tow, Jón sets off on his strange odyssey. With his late mum still relentlessly nagging him from the back seat, he meets a variety of peculiar and charming strangers en route to bury his mum in her home village, Eyrarbakki, and encounters some ghosts from his past too…

Beautifully filmed in crisp black and white, Driving Mum is a heartwarming, emotional film with a fantastic central performance from Gunnarsson.

★★★★★ It excels in storytelling, photography, acting and – first and foremost – lyrical freedom…an instant classic. Victor Fraga, DMovies

★★★★ This film hits just about every sweet spot possible. Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

★★★★★ Hilmar Oddsson's award-winning film Driving Mum is pitch-perfect…pure delight. Sarah Kent, The Arts Desk

Director
Hilmar Oddsson

Date of Release
2022

Running time
112 min

Rating
12

Country of origin
Estonia, Iceland

Language
Icelandic (English subtitles)