Iceland | UK 2024
August 8, 2024

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Writing credits: Baltasar Kormákur, Olaf Olafsson
Principal actors: Egill Ólafsson, Kôki, Pálmi Kormákur

Touch is a visually stunning and emotionally poignant film that takes the viewers on a journey through the landscapes of Iceland, the bustling streets of London, and the scenic views in Japan. It tells us the story based on the bestseller novel Snerting by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, of the ever keen and sympathetic Kristofer wanting to find the missing pieces of his youth.

The film begins with Kristofer (Egill Ólaffsson) a restauranteur in the isolating landscape of Iceland. It is the beginning of lockdown; the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic is causing havoc worldwide and borders are closing. Despite the situation, he embarks on a journey after having heard news from his physician to make amends and to tie up loose ends. Kristofer embarks on a soul-searching journey that leads him to footpaths of his past and a new destination unknown to him.

Armored with a sense of determination and resilience, he closes his restaurant and leaves the shores of Iceland for the bustling streets of London, without so much as a word to his family or to his business, and leaves Iceland behind to take on a task that seems impossible. Confronted with his past, he retraces his steps made fifty years prior to the place where he found his first love.

His search for answers and his quest to find peace leads him further to Japan. In his flashbacks, which span across several decades, he tells us this remarkable story of love and passion and all that he has longed for was to find the missing pieces to his story. 121 minutes (Charís H.)