--- title: "Godland: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/godland/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/godland" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Godland (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 15 reviews: 14 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics agree on where Godland’s strength lies: the landscape photography. Nearly every review singles out the way Hlynur Pálmason’s film renders 19th-century Iceland, with the Academy ratio and the period-photograph look mentioned again and again, and several treat the country itself as the real antagonist. The priest’s slow undoing, from arrogance into illness and madness, is the other point of praise, along with the lead performance and a streak of dry humour that a few reviewers did not expect from something this stern. Reservations are few and cluster around pace: several describe it as slow and deliberate, Screen Daily finds it slightly overlong, and RogerEbert.com calls it uneven. The one mixed notice, from Time Out, admires the visuals but suspects the languid pacing will test some viewers. The spread is otherwise narrow, with most reviews landing between four stars and outright acclaim, and no publication dismisses it. ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 February 2023. The bleak and beautiful drama is a stunning epic of a 19th-century Danish priest on an arduous, misguided journey across Iceland, undone by arrogance and spiritual hubris. It excels as a withering chronicle of colonialism and man's confrontation with nature, elevated by magisterial cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-02-09/review-godland-iceland-drama) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Rating Critics Pick. 24 May 2022. Festival review. The visually striking and emotionally austere film sees a Danish priest's faith tested by Iceland's unforgiving landscape and colonial history, evoking an Arctic 'There Will Be Blood.' It offers rich material rendered with unique pacing and attention to detail. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/godland-review-vanskabte-land-volada-land-1235274746/) ## Empire — Pamela Hutchinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 April 2023. An idealistic Danish priest on a mission in remote Iceland gradually disintegrates amid harsh conditions and local hostility. The critic praises the austere, rigorous direction, vintage photographic style, and visceral lead performance. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/godland/) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2023. The critic highlights how the film renders Iceland's stark landscape and climate so vividly that viewers feel immersed without effects. It singles out the double-edged 'terrible and beautiful' quality of the country and the indelible images. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/b533ffdd-fed5-432b-8dfa-2b548f7cfdb5) ## Little White Lies — Josh Slater-Williams Rating 4/4/4. 4 April 2023. The review calls it a darkly comic epic that is much funnier than expected amid the harshness, delivering another elliptical and elemental treat from a major European filmmaker. It highlights the cultural clash and the priest’s crisis of faith in the second half. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/godland) ## Radio Times — James Mottram Rating 4/5. The review describes a stern, rigorous arthouse drama requiring patience for its deliberate pace, but rewarding with beauty amid the bleakness. It singles out the stormy landscape shots and the tale of cultural opposites clashing. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-w5b0ez/godland/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 February 2023. This sly, brutal drama follows a Danish priest gradually undone by Iceland's harsh world and his own vainglorious ego as he attempts to establish a church. The rough beauty of the landscape is central to the film's appeal and ideas about faith and struggle. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/movies/godland-review.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Simon Abrams Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 February 2023. The film is an uneven but compelling slow-burn about two men who need but cannot trust each other amid colonial tensions in a remote Icelandic settlement. It comes to life in its characters' struggles to retain humanity, aided by stunning cinematography of the locations. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/godland-movie-review-2023) ## Time Out — Whelan Barzey Rating 3/5. 4 April 2023. The critic finds the film an immersive winter wonderland with striking, otherworldly visuals that capture Mother Nature’s power, but notes the languid pacing may test some viewers. It singles out the masterful cinematography of the vast Icelandic landscape. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/godland-2023) ## Film Comment — Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer The critic praises Hlynur Pálmason’s film for its astute examination of the failure of colonial projects involving self-absorbed outsiders. It singles out the exquisite portrait of desolation created through snapshots of a missionary’s trek and the clinical cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-comment-recommends-godland/) ## IndieWire — Carlos Aguilar 3 February 2023. The critic hails it as one of the year’s best films for its arrestingly beautiful journey. They single out the mapping of a priest’s mental and physical decay in a remote Icelandic setting. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/godland-review-1234806310/) ## Screen Daily 25 May 2022. Festival review. The critic calls it an accomplished, ambitious work with a Herzogian fascination for vast landscapes, hubris and madness, though slightly overlong. It singles out the battle of wills between the priest and his guide, and the land itself as antagonist. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/godland-cannes-review/5171174.article) ## Sight and Sound 27 May 2022. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a breathtaking portrait of blind faith and evangelism in remote Iceland, full of extraordinary craft and power. It singles out the stunning landscape photography inspired by period images and the flawless performances for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/godland-finds-nothing-beauty-young-priests-mission-far-side-iceland) ## Slant Magazine — Carson Lund 1 February 2023. The critic praises the film’s formal acumen and knockout imagery that redirect familiar scenarios. They single out the hyper-detailed sound design and elemental landscape immersion as counterpoints to human folly. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/godland-review-hlynur-palmason/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 5 April 2023. The critic praises the film's transformation of harshness into beauty and terror in its epic study of a Danish priest's mission to build a church in 19th-century Iceland. They single out the superb compositional sense, archaeological sense of time, and the stunning landscape as creating something mysterious and sad. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/05/godland-review-hlynur-palmason) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 27 May 2022. Festival review. The critic calls it a striking elemental epic of grim majesty that exerts a powerful hold. They single out its austere yet transfixing drama with unpredictable moments and sneaky humor amid themes of fragile faith against nature. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/godland-cannes-2022-1235155336/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 7 April 2023. The review describes a spectacular epic about the limits of religion against nature's savagery, with stunning Academy-ratio photography full of natural detail. It singles out the devastating ending and the performances amid hardship, injury and madness. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/godland-film-review-828r5flmf) ## Eye for Film — Dora Leu Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 2022. The critic finds Godland a monumental, timeless work of pure cinema with an untranslatable quality. They single out its precise, slow storytelling of doubt-stricken faith and its sublime, awe-inspiring 35mm landscapes that evoke Romanticism and replace God with nature. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/godland-2022-film-review-by-dora-leu) ## Collider — Craig Jones Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2025. The critic calls Godland one of the finest and most visually sumptuous dramas of recent times, highlighting its magisterial visuals and cinematography that underscore themes of moral obligation and isolation. [Read the review](https://collider.com/godland-movie/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 February 2023. The critic calls the film a masterful, meditative epic about a colonizing Danish priest's turbulent journey into Iceland's harsh beauty, praising its visually stunning examination of humanity versus nature and the director's ambitious storytelling. It singles out the majestic cinematography and the primal effects of the landscape on the characters. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/godland-review-iceland/) ## The Playlist — Elena Lazic Rating B+. 25 May 2022. Festival review. The critic praises the film's hypnotic, spiritual slow-cinema approach that richly textures long takes of Icelandic landscapes. They single out its formal daring, including the 4:3 aspect ratio and extended moments of stillness during photography scenes, which reward patient viewing despite a somewhat predictable story. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/godland-review-hlynur-palmasons-hypnotic-spiritual-slow-cinema-look-at-19th-century-iceland-cannes-20220525/) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh Rating 4/5. 21 November 2022. Festival review. The critic calls it an impressive, bleak and beautiful saga about a priest's failed mission in a hostile land. They single out the fine lead performances, beautiful cinematography capturing Iceland's nature, and intelligent storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/godland-review/) ## Deadline — Stephanie Bunbury Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 May 2022. Festival review. The critic describes a slow-moving but visually striking film centered on a Danish priest's arduous journey across Iceland's unforgiving landscape to establish a church. It highlights the director's distinctive use of the natural environment and Academy ratio to create patterns and portraits that underscore themes of isolation, madness, and human-nature conflict. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2022/05/godland-film-review-cannes-1235034530/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/godland.md