“If there is something unsaid or undone in your life, it is never too late to rectify it.”  That quote from Icelandic writer-director Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavík) gets to the heart of Touch.  His daughter gave him Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson’s novel as a Christmas present in 2021 and, enthralled by the material, he bought the film rights within a week.  His goal was to lure audiences with a complex romantic story but tell it in a quiet, understated way.  He’s achieved just that.

Two timelines have been carefully woven together with the help of editor Sigurður Eyþórsson.  The first takes place in the late 1960s when Kristófer (Palmi Kormakur) is a young Icelander studying economics at a university in London.  Disenfranchised by the university’s right-leaning administration, he drops out and accepts a job at a local Japanese restaurant.  He starts out washing dishes but it’s not long before Kristófer’s passion is noticed by the restaurant’s owner, and he becomes an apprentice chef.

The second takes place in early 2020 as COVID spreads and airlines/hotels are on the cusp of shutting down.  Plagued by health issues, a now 70-something-year-old Kristófer (Ólafsson) gets one of the last flights from Iceland to England to track down a woman, Miko, he met a half-century earlier while working at the restaurant.  The two had a brief, intimate relationship as youngsters but lost touch for reasons explained late in the film (I won’t spoil).  Kristófer has never forgotten their blissful time together and goes in search of his long-lost love before his own clock runs out.

Touch is a beautiful film bolstered by its unorthodox cast.  Icelandic actor/pop star Egill Ólafsson was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and only had enough energy to work for a few hours each day.  In playing the older Kristófer, you get a sense his personal battles helped shape the character.  He’s created a likeable, kind-hearted man with a splash of humour and stubbornness.  While he’s not big on dialogue, you’ll be cheering for him to succeed.

In looking for someone with a “John Lennon gentleness”, Baltasar Kormákur struggled to find the ideal actor to play the younger version of Kristófer.  In the end, he cast his own son!  It sounds nepotistic, but Kormákur had sign off from the film’s producers who were wowed by his audition tapes.  I agree with their decision as Palmi Kormákur brilliantly captures the softly spoken nature of the role, and the character’s overall authenticity.

Shot across Iceland, England, and Japan, Touch is a credible romantic tale that touches the heart and offers a few laughs along the way.  If all cinema was this good, this world would be a better place.