Ástin Sem Eftir Er (The Love That Remains); a H. Pálmasson Film
- Phyllis Smith
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Phyllis Smith
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) ran from September 4–14th, 2025. Every year, I seek out the entry from Iceland. This year’s feature was Hlynur Pálmasson’s fourth film, The Love That Remains. Hlynur’s past work includes Godland (2022), A White, White Way (2019), and Winter Brothers (2017).
The Love That Remains depicts the breakdown of a marriage and its impact on the family. The parents struggle to find a new normal for their children that is healthy and positive despite their changing feelings for one another.
The cast includes Sverrir Guðnason, as Magnús, who goes to sea to work as a fisherman but wants to maintain his role as a dad to his three children. The mom, Anna, played by Saga Garðarsdóttir, is a visual artist struggling to be taken seriously while raising the kids during this transitional stage of her relationship with their father. I was happy to see Ingvar Sigurðsson, who has worked with Hlynur before in A White, White Day. He played a small role as Anna’s dad.
After seeing the film, we were treated to a Q&A session with Sverrir Goðnason. Hlynur was unable to represent the film himself due to the demands of his filming schedule. Sverrir shared some of his thoughts about the film and answered audience questions.
Hlynur’s process involves shooting footage for multiple film projects simultaneously. Sverrir described the “universe” of Hlynur’s recent work, which includes short films such as Blue, focusing on the car Anna drove, and another, Joan of Arc, about a knight the kids built and rebuilt throughout the film. The Love That Remains is the related feature-length film.
The movie was shot in southeast Iceland, where Hlynur lives and has set previous films. The airport seen in one of the more comedic scenes appears to be in Höfn. Sverrir said Hlynur was the primary cinematographer, using a 35mm camera on leftover stock film that he kept handy in his car. Hlynur told an interviewer in Cannes that he filmed whatever interested him. Many of the scenes featuring weather, seascapes, and Icelandic vistas, as well as macro shots of spring flowers, crowberries, horses, and more, all found their way into the film. As expected, the weather dictated the schedule and was sometimes featured in scenes. Sverrir said they woke up one day to bright sunshine, so Hlynur made that the day to film a family hike and picnic.
Sverrir mentioned the experience of filming with a small crew. Hlynur did most of the filming himself and without the influence of advanced technology. One scene did feature a CG rooster leg, but the scene itself was done in an analog style.
Multiple scenes showed Magnús working on a fishing trawler that Sverrir said were filmed on board a working fishing boat. They went with the crew on a herring run and had no idea if they could return to land in four days or if it would take eight days to bring in 180 tons of herring. The viewer could share the harsh reality of Magnús’s work, as well as his isolation from family life on land.
In contrast to the realistic depiction of life at sea, the rooster mentioned above added a dream-like quality to the film, or maybe nightmarish, depending on your feelings about a giant, vengeful rooster. Similarly, the knight that the children constructed played a fantastical role. Perhaps the drift into fantasy seen in some Icelandic movies hints at their respect for myths and dreams.
Hlynur is referred to as an “auteur” due to the artistry in his films. Those who saw A White, White Day or Godland would recognize his use of a single scene shown multiple times over the course of several seasons. The knight built by the kids marks the passage of time as it appears repeatedly in different weather and across all four seasons.
Interviewers have asked Hlynur if The Love That Remains is autobiographical. The short answer is no; his own marriage is intact. Sverrir suggested that Hlynur was exploring “what if” questions about marriage and family; in one interview, Hlynur mused that Magnús didn’t understand what he had until he realized he was losing it. He was cast adrift while his family moved on without him.
Even if the story is not autobiographical, Hlynur’s fingerprints are all over the movie. Anna’s artwork was, in fact, created by Hlynur, according to Sverrir. His daughter, Ída, who played a role in A White, White Way, had an influential scene with her movie dad. Sverrir said the dressing-down she gave him in the scene made him feel like a small
boy. Hlynur’s twin sons also appear in the film. Their mother may have questioned that decision when the bow and arrows came out. Even their dog has a starring role. Panda, an Icelandic sheep dog, won the coveted Palm Dog Award at Cannes for a performance by a canine. Sverrir said Panda no longer acknowledges him ever since her big win.
The last question put to Sverrir by the audience concerned the quantity and quality of the films coming out of Iceland and why that might be. Sverrir theorized that Icelanders have a long history of storytelling. It only made sense that they continued to adapt to the media of the time to share their stories with the wider world.
Janus Films has acquired all North American rights to The Love That Remains.
Other Sources:
Hazelton, John. (29 May 2025). “Hlynur Palmason’s ‘The Love That Remains’ goes to Janus Films for North America” in Screen Daily. Retrieved from: https://www.screendaily.com/news/hlynur-palmasons-the-love-that-remains-goes-to-janus-films-for-north-america/5205583.article : 09 Sep 2025.
Khaldi, Tarik. (18 May 2025). “Hlynur Pálmason Delivers an Intimate Portrait with Ástin Sem Eftir Er (The Love That Remains)” in Festival de Cannes. Retrieved from:
https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2025/hlynur-palmason-delivers-an-intimate-portrait-with-astin-sem-eftir-er-the-love-that-remains/ : 09 Sep 2025.
Lumholdt, Jan. (23 May 2025). “Hlynur Pálmason, Director of The Love That Remains: ‘There’s a lot of beauty, and you really need to take care of it – it’s so easy to take things for granted’.” In Cineuropa. Retrieved from:
https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/477874/ : 09 Sep 2025.
Mehta, Ritesh. (23 May 2025). “’It’s Not Enough to Only Have Narrative’: Hlynur Pálmason on Cannes 2025 Premiere The Love That Remains” in Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved from:
https://filmmakermagazine.com/130811-interview-hlynur-palmason-cannes-2025-the-love-that-remains/ : 09 Sep 2025.
Wise, Damon, (24 May 2025). “Palm Dog: ‘The Love That Remains’, ‘Sirât’, ‘Pillion’ And ‘Amores Perros’ Honored – Cannes Film Festival” in Deadline. Retrieved from:
https://deadline.com/2025/05/palm-dog-awards-2025-love-that-remains-sirat-pillion-and-amores-perros-honored-1236409607/ : 09 Sep 2025.
