Set in the 19th Century, Godland follows the story of a young priest as he is assigned a task of constructing a church in Iceland(occupied by Denmark then), and at each step his faith is challenged in one form or the other. The story here is not your usual religious drama with the standard tropes associated to it. Instead, the makers coax you to be a ‘silent’ observer, observing the characters, their traits and the ever changing landscapes while presenting an abstract case of faith and the challenges that it brings with it. The screenplay standing at 140 odd minutes unfolds at a leisurely pace almost allowing the viewers to be silent spectators with the group who travel through adverse conditions thereby making for a compelling watch. Yet at its core, the drama is a fascinating character study featuring different characters and their shifting ambitions which are reactive as per the situation or with respect to other characters around them. 

The drama sets the context pretty early on with the introduction of the protagonist who is instructed by a senior priest in Denmark to pave his way to Iceland to construct a church while also being told to adapt to the locals for the same. The camera pans to a couple of lines that tell the viewers a couple of photographs that were retrieved from the era with the story forming a fictional account around the event. The journey though continues but what fascinated me instantly was the resolution of the film being shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio which was a homage to the camera used by the protagonist to document his journey, and the people around him. And he captures his journey through the bandwagon of helpers whom he meets including his translator, and his guide who has a disdain for the Danes. But it is the topography of the region that poses the first conflict of the drama through its beautiful terrains marred by extreme weather. 

The proceedings are almost meditative allowing the viewers to imbibe the vibe of the surroundings without completely making things obvious. So in the beginning the faith of the characters is challenged by the landscape that also sees the death of one of the characters while causing the protagonist to be fatally ill. His thoughts of ‘God Isn’t Needed’ or ‘God hasn’t helped him'(paraphrased) acts as a crucial turning point in the drama. The protagonist Lucas was always an arrogant man masking his arrogance with his faith. But the moment his faith took a beating, his real traits was exposed which were further strengthened after he survives the extreme conditions thereby allowing himself to believe that he was a body of authority. 

The drama also highlights the different cultures of Denmark and Iceland, with the later having being colonized then. And both these countries are presented by two characters, the protagonist and his guide who have an underlying layer of tension brewing between them. The latter is a man of extreme faith, perhaps even more than the protagonist who is a priest, while suddenly being reduced to a helper who is often instructed of the activities to be carried out as opposed to being ‘one amongst the group’. The power center does shift towards the protagonist as he also finds himself the love of his life much to the dismay of another character who was welcoming but suddenly has seeds of distrust sown against him. 

In all of it, the beautiful landscape of Iceland is subjected to some beautiful 360 degree shots featuring a shifting timeline while focusing on dead bodies being dissolved to rubble across various seasons. What I did make of it also was that the landscape was like the mind of various characters who would like to believe their faith but are also revengeful in many ways. Yet, the idea of being reduced to rubble irrespective of being an authority or the one colonized was essentially the crux of the drama that did touch upon various sins of characters along the way in a beautifully penned screenplay that is challenging in many ways. The title at the end represented in Danish and Icelandic languages does stay with you for neither of them directly contribute to it being ‘Godland’.