Magical Iceland – Magical Island – Leben auf der größten Vulkaninsel der Welt (2019)

Directed by: Jan Haft | 52 minutes | documentary

Iceland is a special place from a landscape point of view. The island was mainly formed by volcanic activity, a primal force of nature that can have both a creative and destructive effect. ‘Magical Iceland’ is a beautiful image portrait of this sparsely populated Nordic country that is blessed with breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and large areas of rugged, hardly human-touched wilderness. Hills and mountain peaks, whether or not covered with glaciers, interspersed with beautiful fjords and bays, are the most important and striking landscape elements on the island, which is relatively poor in plants. The film also shows how the landscape changes with the seasons: plains that are still seas of yellow flowers in late spring and summer, disappear in winter under a thick layer of snow.

The focus in ‘Magical Iceland’ is on the rich fauna on and around the island. Especially the birds are in the spotlight. They are therefore a lot better represented than other land animals. For example, in terms of mammals, the Arctic fox is the only native land mammal in Iceland. The birdlife of the island comes in many forms. From the curlew, ptarmigan and snipe, feathered beauties found mainly inland, to the large colonies of razorbills and puffins nesting on the steep cliffs by the sea. Certainly the puffins, beautiful birds that are known as ‘the clowns of the sea’ due to their colorful beak and funny appearance, steal the show. We watch the hardworking parent birds spend many hours at sea and return with mouths full of sand eels to feed their chicks hidden in burrows. Unfortunately, the sand eels, the fish that form the staple food of the puffins and razorbills, are becoming increasingly scarce due to overfishing and the warming of the seawater.

But the camera also regularly peers below the water surface to capture the rich marine life around Iceland. Humpback whales are annual visitors, while the cod that is characteristic of these waters still occurs in considerable numbers around the island. The filmmakers also have an eye for more outlandish species such as the lumpfish and wolffish. Although the former has a somewhat goofy head, the males are surprisingly beautifully colored in mating season. Reminiscent of the Nosferatu vampire Count Orlok in fish form, the wolffish with its grotesque teeth is extremely adept at cracking shellfish.

‘Magical Iceland’ is an interesting, educational and visually appealing cross-section of Icelandic nature and a beautiful representation of a wild land formed by fire and ice. Definitely recommended for viewers who appreciate a good nature film and who want to escape the hectic pace of modern life.