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Land Ho!

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Land Ho!
Directed by
Written by
  • Martha Stephens
  • Aaron Katz
Produced by
Starring
  • Paul Eenhoorn
  • Earl Lynn Nelson
  • Karrie Crouse
  • Elizabeth McKee
  • Alice Olivia Clarke
  • Emmsjé Gauti
CinematographyAndrew Reed
Edited byAaron Katz
Music byKeegan DeWitt
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19) (Sundance)
  • July 11, 2014 (2014-07-11) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Iceland
LanguageEnglish
Box office$727,594[1]

Land Ho! is a 2014 adventure comedy film, co-written and co-directed by Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz.[2][3] The film made its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014.[4] It also screened at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.[5]

Sony Pictures Classics acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.[6][7]

The film released on July 11, 2014, in New York City and Los Angeles before expanding wide in the United States.[8] It won the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature under $500,000 at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot

A pair of ex-brothers-in-law set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavík nightclubs, trendy spas, and rugged camp-sites.

Cast

  • Paul Eenhoorn as Colin
  • Earl Lynn Nelson as Mitch
  • Karrie Crouse as Ellen
  • Elizabeth McKee as Janet
  • Alice Olivia Clarke as Nadine
  • Emmsjé Gauti as Glow Stick Guy

Production

Principal photography took place over 16 days in Iceland in September and October 2013, with 2 days in Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend in 2013. Locations shot in Iceland included Reykjavík, Skógar, Jökulsárlón, Landmannalaugar, Gullfoss, Strokkur, and Blue Lagoon. The film was shot on two Red One cameras to better capture the actors' natural mannerisms and reactions, and was edited in just six weeks. A mere one year and three days elapsed between the film's conception and its Sundance premiere.[9]

The film was executive produced by David Gordon Green, as well as Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger of Gamechanger Films. It is the first feature to be financed by Gamechanger Films, an equity fund dedicated to financing features directed and co-directed by women.[10]

Earl Lynn Nelson, who plays Mitch, is a real life doctor and cousin of director Martha Stephens.[11]

Promotion

The first trailer of the film was released on May 16, 2014.[12]

Reception

Land Ho! won the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature under $500,000 at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards and has received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 82% of 90 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.6 out of 10. The site's consensus reads "Gently amusing and agreeably modest in scale, Land Ho! uses its stars' warm chemistry to impart its poignant, quietly effective message."[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, it has an average score of 68 from 30 reviews.[14]

In her Sundance round-up, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film "Delightfully funny...By turns playful and wistful, the movie is anchored by its irresistible lead performances....The filmmakers adroitly skirt both the cute and the condescending — the default registers of too many movies about geezers — to offer a dual portrait of gloriously alive men who just happen to be old."[15]

Amy Taubin of Film Comment said, "The scenery is spectacular, the women they encounter are all marvelously independent, and Eenhoorn and Nelson make a hilarious, endearingly ribald odd couple. A serious film about loneliness, loss, and aging, it is also filled with joie de vivre from beginning to end (and a very cheeky ending it is)."[16]

Justin Chang of Variety said that "Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson give pitch-perfect performances in this gently elegiac road comedy from helmers Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz."[17]

Todd McCarthy in his review for The Hollywood Reporter praised the film by saying that "A gently amusing odyssey with two old gents on the road in Iceland."[18]

Chris Cabin of Slant Magazine, praised the direction by saying that "the filmmakers consistently catch the nuances of character that bind the two men to each other, rather than simply tracing the pros and cons of their dispositions, is what gives the film its melancholic yet vibrant resonance."[19]

Dan Fienberg of HitFix said, "It's a funny and moving film about aging, but it's also a wacky journey across Iceland with two characters who are instantly likable and ultimately quite lovable."[20]

References

  1. ^ "Land Ho!". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Sundance 2014: The alarmingly different, utterly charming personalities of 'Land Ho!'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. ^ "Sundance 2014: Men of a certain age travel, party in 'Land Ho!'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  4. ^ "Sundance 2014: The Next <=> Lineup". Indiewire. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  5. ^ "SONY PICTURES CLASSICS TO RELEASE LAND HO! ON JULY 11". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  6. ^ "Sundance: Sony Classics Acquires Road Trip Comedy 'Land Ho!'". Deadline. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  7. ^ "Sundance: Sony Classics Claims Road-Trip Comedy 'Land Ho!'". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  8. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics Dates Sundance Acquisition 'Land Ho!' for July 11". Deadline. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  9. ^ "'Land Ho!' Press Kit" (PDF). Syncopated Films. June 2014.
  10. ^ "David Gordon Green Exec Producing 'Land Ho!' From Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz". Deadline. Oct 17, 2013.
  11. ^ "'Land Ho!'? It all began with an Icelandic travel brochure". Los Angeles Times. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  12. ^ "Watch: Check Out this Sweet First Trailer for Sundance Gem 'Land Ho!'". Indiewire. May 16, 2014.
  13. ^ "Land Ho! (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "Land Ho!: Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  15. ^ "Mirror, Mirror: Sundance Hits 30". The New York Times. Jan 23, 2014.
  16. ^ "Born Again". Film Comment. Mar–Apr 2014.
  17. ^ "Sundance Film Review: 'Land Ho!'". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  18. ^ "Land Ho!: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  19. ^ "Review: Land Ho!". Slate Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  20. ^ "Review: 'Land Ho!' offers understated charm and comedy". Hitfix. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
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