One of the most popular films of the year in Icelandic cinemas is Touch by Baltasar Kormákur, based on the most popular book of 2020 by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson. Icelandic Times’ journalist met Baltasar for coffee at the impressive Rvk Studios premises in Gufunes in the outskirts of Reykjavík and discussed the film, the story’s appeal, and how its main themes resonate with most of us in one way or another – not least with Baltasar himself.
Baltasar Kormákur is the Icelandic director who has achieved the most success abroad, with his films featuring some of the biggest stars of our time in leading roles. Under his direction, Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin have ascended the peak of Everest, Idris Elba has battled a bloodthirsty lion, and Denzel Washington has wielded his guns. These are just a few of the many world-famous actors he has worked with over the past two decades or so. His latest film, Touch, based on the bestselling book of the same name by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, has received excellent reviews both in Iceland and abroad. Unlike the aforementioned films – Everest, Beast, and Two Guns – Touch unfolds slowly, driven by deep emotions rooted in true events.
“My daughter gave me the book, and as soon as I started reading it—I might have been on page 100—I knew this was something I was going to get deeply into. Ólafur Jóhann’s story has the quality that it starts off lightly, if I can put it that way, but then it slowly tightens its grip, becoming more and more intense, and by the end, something has happened inside you that you didn’t see coming,” explains Baltasar. “Both emotionally and narratively, it becomes much denser as it progresses. That was an interesting quality that really captivated me.”
Good Collaboration with Ólafur Jóhann
altasar didn’t wait long; he immediately got in touch with Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, the book’s author. Subsequently, the two of them spent about a year writing the screenplay for the film. As this is being written, news arrives that the film has been nominated for the 2024 Nordic Council Film Prize, according to a statement from the Nordic Film and TV Fund. At this point, about 42,000 people have seen the film in Iceland, and it is clear that Touch will be the most attended Icelandic film of the year and among the most popular films by the end of the year. Based on the main criteria, it can be said that the project has been a success.
“You could say that Ólafur Jóhann and I are both very active people, and we just worked constantly on this project until it was finished,” says Baltasar about the scriptwriting process. “The collaboration was really enjoyable, especially considering that there is a general consensus that you shouldn’t work with the author of a book when adapting a screenplay. It hasn’t always gone well when I’ve tried that,” he adds with a playful sparkle in his eyes. “But Ólafur and I approached this with the right mindset. There’s just something that clicked, and it became an incredibly easy collaboration. We constantly bounced ideas off each other, and if I suggested something that deviated from the book, as often happens when adapting for the big screen, he embraced it and worked with me. This undoubtedly helped ensure that the tone of the book was always present in the film. His authorial voice is there, but the collaboration was never such that he wasn’t willing to let me adapt the story to the film format. As a result, I think there are more changes to the story as it appears in the film than people generally realize. The core of the story, which is what matters most, remains true to the book and is very much present.”
A Star Performance by Two Generations
Much has already been said and written about Egill Ólafsson’s performance in the role of Kristófer in the present day, and it’s safe to say that he delivers a stellar performance. When this journalist saw the film, the actor who portrays the younger Kristófer caught his attention just as much—this was none other than Baltasar’s son, Pálmi Kormákur, in his first major role. Despite Baltasar’s experience, confidence, and talent as a director, wasn’t he at all nervous about throwing his son straight into the deep end with a leading role in a full-length film? The father smiles at the thought. “It wasn’t originally my idea for Pálmi to play this role—Selma Björnsdóttir [Touch’ casting director] suggested it. She pointed out my two sons, Stormur and Pálmi, for the role, and my initial reaction was that one of them wasn’t the right type for the role—even though he’s a great actor—and the other one actually was, but he had no interest in acting because his heart is in visual arts. And I wasn’t sure if he even had it in him despite a handful of small roles when he was younger. But I just asked Selma to get in touch with the boys, invite them to audition, and then just let the process take its course rather than me interfering.”
It turned out that Stormur wasn’t the right character for the sensitive and emotional Kristófer (trust Dad to know his boys!) and Baltasar wasn’t even sure if Pálmi would show up for the auditions. Pálmi hesitated at first but eventually decided to take the plunge, challenge himself a bit, and attend the auditions. It turned out to be a great stroke of luck. “I checked out the auditions material and, as they say, the boy absolutely nails it, much to my surprise and delight. Everyone who sees the auditions afterward agrees that he’s the right one for the role. The same thing happens with the people at Focus Features [the film’s production company], and that’s when I start thinking, what now? I knew there was no one else who could play the role, but I also knew this would be difficult for me because what if it didn’t work out in the end? It’s one thing to make mistakes in filmmaking, but another to make mistakes with your child’s life. It could have caused him long-term difficulties if the role hadn’t gone well for him, and to be completely honest, this wasn’t easy for me. But we faced it together as two adults, and there’s nothing more enjoyable than getting to know your children through work. It’s incredibly rewarding, especially because the lad does such a great job.”
A Bygone Era That Stirs Up Old Wounds
Through Pálmi’s portrayal, we get to know the protagonist Kristófer as a student during his student years in London in the late 1960s, and how it comes to be that he starts working at a Japanese restaurant, falls in love, and life smiles upon him—until fate intervenes when events from the past resurface. Without going into detail about the plot’s progression, a Japanese term called hibakusha plays a significant role in Kristófer’s life. The term emerged from the events when atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II and refers to those affected by the bombings; the word hi means “suffering,” baku means “explosion,” and sha means “person”—a person who suffers due to the explosion.
This term does not refer to those who perished in the disaster, but to the people who survived and lived in the shadow of the long-term effects of radiation and other lasting impacts. In the aftermath of the bombings, survivors began to be stigmatized, and there was prejudice against them and their descendants. It was believed that the blood of survivors was contaminated by radiation, and it was generally assumed that hibakusha could not have healthy children. Few wanted such individuals in their families. Thus, another silent and cruel tragedy was born on top of the devastation caused by the bombs themselves.
“This Hiroshima story is so incredibly well integrated into the narrative by Ólafur—how the butterfly effect from long-past atrocities can have such significant consequences in the present. It gives the story much greater depth and a more profound tone,” says Baltasar, and it’s clear that this aspect of Kristófer’s story resonates with him. “This is coming to light more and more recently, and there was an article in the Guardian about it because of the documentary Atomic People, which deals with these people—the hibakusha.”
Baltasar falls silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then he speaks again.
“I am going to tell you something. Something quite remarkable. About a week ago, I received a letter from an actor in the film who told me that he is a descendant of hibakusha. Participating in this film had a significant impact on his life, and he apologized for not daring to tell me this while we were making the film. This is so deeply ingrained in Japanese national consciousness that even though he is just a descendant of hibakusha, he didn’t dare mention it because of the perceived possibility that he might carry in him some genetic defect. And this is an adult man, a Japanese actor living in Germany, and he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it!”
We sit in silence, reflecting on this for a moment. It’s shocking how pervasive the stigma and prejudice against those who survived the bombings remain, even today—nearly 80 years later.
“But I was incredibly touched to receive this letter, in which the actor expresses his sincere gratitude. Since Touch deals with this sensitive issue that has weighed so heavily on a group of Japanese people—who did nothing wrong other than survive war crimes—he wants to help raise more awareness about the film, if he can, in Japan and beyond.”
Just like how Baltasar’s parents met…
The silencing and marginalization surrounding those considered hibakusha is, of course, a theme we Icelanders are all too familiar with throughout history. The prejudice against Icelandic girls who had relationships with soldiers from the occupying forces during World War II persisted for decades after the war ended and the soldiers were long gone. We must also remember that, here as elsewhere, people hesitated for a long time to be in the same room as HIV-positive individuals. Perhaps this is why people in Iceland relate so well to the story—along with the fact that, in some personal way, we are all in search of lost time?
“I think that’s absolutely right, and this is a very universal theme,” says Baltasar. “This may be a bigger and broader story than most people experience in these matters. And yet…” Baltasar smiles at some thought and then continues speaking. “My parents actually met just like Kristófer and Miko. At Mokka Café [Iceland’s oldest operating coffee shop, on Skólavördustígur, Reykjavík]. Just exactly like that. My dad, a Spaniard who was living in Norway, was just passing through on his way to work in the herring industry in Siglufjörður to earn some money. He planned to buy oil colours and canvas in town, and he knew that local artists met at Mokka. So that’s where he went. My mom had just come to town from the countryside and was working at Mokka. My dad sees her, stands up, walks over to her, and asks her name—and he hasn’t left the country since. These stories are everywhere, and I didn’t even realize my parents’ story until after I had finished making the film.”
Ready for the Next Project—with a Hollywood Superstar
When asked if he needs to gather his strength after Touch—which he says was one of the most complex projects he has undertaken, with filming across two continents, in three countries, and in three languages—Baltasar says that’s far from the case. On the contrary, he’s full of energy and is about to start work on his next blockbuster. It’s the thriller Apex, with Charlize Theron confirmed to star in the lead role. The story is about an outdoorswoman who finds herself in grave danger in the wilderness, where she has to fight off threats beyond just the forces of nature. “This film is certainly different from Touch, a thriller set in the outdoors, but at its core, I’m still telling an interesting story,” Baltasar interjects. But first, he has to finish the television project The King & The Conqueror, an 8-part series that Baltasar’s company, Rvk Studios, produced in collaboration with the BBC and CBS, no less. It’s about the great battle at Hastings in 1066—a massive project that was filmed in the studio facilities at Gufunes. So, we’ve reached the point today where we can handle productions of this magnitude in a studio in Iceland?
“Yes, absolutely,” Baltasar responds firmly. “This is a dream I’ve had ever since I came here and saw these buildings about 20 years ago. I didn’t feel ready to take it on back then, but it’s always been in the back of my mind. Then the moment came when I told myself I was going to do it, and in 2016, I finally made it happen. I’ll be honest with you, people thought I had lost my mind—I’m not joking—they were convinced that I was setting myself up for abject failure. But it’s working, and it’s working well. We’ve taken on major projects here, and there’s plenty more in the pipeline. This has created an entirely new platform for Icelandic filmmaking.”
With that, we finish our coffee. Baltasar has his next meeting to get to. He needs to meet with people so he can continue doing what drives him every day—telling stories.
Text: Jón Agnar Ólason
