Original subtitles

Yeah...

Yeah...

I'm running for office,

at the top of the ticket for the Best Party in Reykjavik.

I was born in Reykjavik and I've lived here all my life

but that's not the reason I'm running for office.

The reason is that the powers-that-be have failed.

I think that I have an excellent background to be mayor.

For a number of years I worked in a psych ward.

And I almost completed my maritime certificate

which would have allowed me to captain a small vessel.

I almost passed it, so I have the experience,

and I hold a commercial driver's license,

so I can drive a truck.

Yeah...

Some people came up with the idea to import squirrels,

import them from London.

Somebody put this on my table.

"GERMICIDE"

I'm not sure if I should take the hint and use it.

Use it for the enormous cleaning that awaits me.

Yeah... Today I've made the rounds in the city

and met with people who have been wonderful,

and I've met with so many and I'm deeply touched

by all the kindness I sensed among the people.

This campaign was begun solely so that

I can get a good salary and use the city's summerhouse by the water.

And it's such fun to visit workplaces and to experience the kinds of things

that the proles do all day long, all kinds of proles.

And I will strive to get as high a salary as possible

for doing as little as possible.

We have a hailstorm...

The Best Party is a transparent and democratic party

which has the welfare of human beings as its guiding light.

You're not even allowed to vote.

Everybody who can vote matters.

We intend to listen more to broads.

We have a number of broads on our ticket. -Broads?

Yes, and girls too.

Do you have any minorities? -Yes, we have one handicapped person.

That's good. -And then we'll have one old broad.

We'll offer more free things to people.

The swimming pools will be free, and towels too.

The buses will be free for students...

No, for everybody.

It's fun

to be a part of a living struggle.

Not a struggle really but an activity.

To participate in a dynamic activity and

get the chance to meet so many people.

At the beginning of the 2006 term everything was prospering

and unemployment was only 2.4%.

It was the first time that a mayor was unseated in Reykjavik.

My name will be on everybody's lips:

Master Arnheim.

I could easily be in an institution.

The representatives of the F Party and the Independent Party

will form a new majority until the end of the term.

But the change in mayors didn't go without a hitch.

"You're no fucking mayor! Get out, man!"

The new alliance only lasted for seven months.

Four years later the unemployment rate was at 9.5%.

I come in peace.

I'm only a comedian from the past.

The ash from the volcano continues to disrupt air traffic in Europe.

Millions of travelers are left stranded.

The ash has disrupted air traffic more than the 9/11 attacks.

The Icelandic banks were robbed from the inside.

The liquidity crisis felled Glitnir bank and the state came to the rescue.

How are you? -Not very well. I feel bad.

Good... That's good to hear.

The other banks, to the best of my knowledge,

are not in the same predicament as Glitnir.

More and more people can't afford food

and have to turn to charitable organizations

There's a real danger, my dear countrymen,

that the Icelandic economy,

in the worst-case scenario,

could be swallowed along with the banks into the maelstrom

and the nation could become bankrupt.

This is a problem that has been caused by the Icelandic government

I have talked to the prime minister about it, It is totally unexeptable behaviour.

With strikes, with demonstrations

and by carrying you out of the government buildings

in which you hide...

We will ask for formal talks with the IMF...

I will only say that it's a great mistake

for people to think they'll get anywhere with illegal actions...

Down with the gasoline...

You can't stop minding the diet even though you're dead.

We are really shocked and we don't know what's going on.

Holy fucking fuck!

Major projects that were started at the beginning of the term

have been stalled, and new buildings stand empty...

It's a joke...

People have had it with corruption...

They promise everything and do nothing...

The entertainer Jon Gnarr made it official

that he has founded a political party called the Best Party.

I felt it was about time that I received a good salary.

You thought that I was stupid but it's you who are the stupid ones.

You are idiots.

This is the first joke campaign

that has received more than zero point something of the vote

and this is the first poll, so I feel that this is a major victory.

3%, we're almost equal to the Progressives,

who have been killing off this nation for centuries.

So I consider this a major victory.

I have been a comedian in Iceland for twenty years,

more than twenty years.

Now I might be leaving that scene.

My only wish is to make people happy. That's my main goal.

And it's not been a bed of roses, trying to make this nation happy.

I've been charged more often than the average criminal.

I've been charged twenty or thirty times but never sentenced for anything,

only charged.

And there is nowhere in Icelandic law

where it says somebody can be judged for not being funny.

I have researched it.

About this Gallup poll:

the Progressives have slightly more of a following than we do,

and we intend to lure support from them.

We'll offer farmers and people in rural areas "two for one deals"

or "a night on the town".

Farmers can take animals with them

into their hotel rooms, sheep for instance,

in a "two for one" deal, no extra charge.

I aim for a clear majority.

One hundred percent.

I was always tired and didn't have enough energy for anything,

but after I became acquainted with amphetamine-steroids

my life has completely turned around.

Today I have all the energy I need.

And I don't have to sleep a wink.

"AMPHETAMINE-STEROIDS Increase alertness and endurance."

I googled "Can you make fun of everything?"

and, lo and behold, someone's looked into it.

So my answer to "Jon, can you make fun of everything?"

is yes, according to the research...

Yes, it's possible, but it matters how it's done, when and who does it.

But it's allowed.

Little has been heard of him in decades

but he lives in our memory

and has now returned, and he has forgotten nothing.

"Adolf Hitler: No Regrets"

A brand new CD with twenty songs from this great singer.

Get your copy now.

"No Regrets", the new CD

from the heartthrob Adolf Hitler, will not disappoint.

Yes, sometimes we have crossed the line and...

We promise to never do it again.

It's happened a few times but it won't happen again.

I can't stand this snow,

and it's so strange that most people see it as romantic or charming.

"Oh, it's started to snow..."

Jon, will you take a look at the lyrics?

We have two versions.

Shouldn't Jon sing first?

You sing the lines in the box...

The lines in the box...

Those are small lines... -It's just a ten-point font

that everybody can read.

I'm used to twelve point...

Can you read it? -Yeah...

We want a city...

Just sing it. It's not complicated.

You're a powerful singer. -Yeah, of course.

I'm a great singer... Miss my bitch and...

We want a city that's cuddly, warm and clean.

Cool, just a little bit more power.

Once again, once again...

Sing like the wind.

It's nice to hear yourself with reverb...

Don't you want to be in the studio together?

More people can sing than just him.

More Berlusconi...

We want a city...

Was that the right place?

-No.

We want a... No, no.

We want a city... No.

I've done hundreds like this...

We want a city that is clean... No

Radio Saga has done a poll of its listeners

and we have 85% support, neither more nor less.

They said that 85% support the Best Party.

In a new poll?

I haven't heard about that.

They said so.

No, no more of that.

Give the idiots a pass...

I need one take. -Yeah, I know...

I'm one take.

You are number one...

I'll give you one chance...

You've been around a lot and now you're in politics.

I'm not in politics. I'm with the Best Party.

You are in the Best Party. Is that different from politics?

Yes, totally different.

But there are elections and...

Yes, we're going to clean house.

We are against kleptocracy, as we've already said.

We want the riffraff out

and we want more rock in Reykjavik.

We will not destroy Reykjavik.

We will revive Reykjavik. This is a boring city

and we intend to have fun here.

We want fountains, wild animals and electric trains.

Musicians...

No more concrete and steel messing up our brains.

To help us fix the economic system and to learn how to make a profit,

we intend to import Jews, or try to.

And Elsa is Jewish

and she's going to the States later this month

where she'll try to make some contacts.

Yes, I can trace my family to New Jersey in the States.

How did it come about that you got involved in this?

Was it Jon who got you into it? -Yes, a calling, really.

A calling from Jon.

There's no other way to describe it.

Yes, and we needed a woman with a foreign last name.

So is this campaign in any way serious? -Serious?

Yes. -Comedy is deadly serious.

But is this the best way... -You said it. This is the best way.

To blow it all up. -It needs to be blown up.

It blew up in 2008 and since then we've had a bad hangover,

and the four parties have been trying to patch a system

that they themselves couldn't protect,

and enough with them.

Now there's talk

that politicians ought to shoulder responsibility.

If you get into a jam or somebody on your ticket

receives payments from a contractor...

If something like that happens,

do you think politicians should be held accountable and resign?

First and foremost, you apologize to your party.

And then you should try to talk your way out of it.

When I was in middle school I would get beat up, almost daily

but I was usually able to talk my way out of it

or use empty promises, like offering booze.

I owe almost everybody there a pint of booze

for not beating me up.

I'm very good at that, and I would try that.

But if everything else fails

then of course you shoulder responsibility.

A polar bear for the zoo!

And we will protect all kinds of things,

and do all kinds of stuff for unfortunates.

A Disney World in Reykjavik. -Yes.

A drug-free parliament...

Write off all debt...

We would like to have a Disneyland in Reykjavik

so that we have the same access as the Americans and the Europeans.

And also,

we would like to invite our citizens, free of charge, to Disneyland

and unemployed people can have their pictures taken with Mickey Mouse,

free of charge.

The Best Party will get two representatives into the city council

according to a new newspaper poll.

The Best Party is now at nearly 13% in the polls.

We can't just follow this mess on the news all the time.

We need to be able to relax, go to the zoo and look at a polar bear.

Now that we're getting a polar bear,

what did the penguin say to the polar bear?

Nothing.

Penguins can't speak.

So it's surreal to even ask such a question.

Penguins have never been able to speak.

They don't even have vocal cords.

Besides, penguins live in Antarctica

and there are no polar bears there. They are at the North Pole.

So a polar bear and a penguin would never meet,

unless it were in a zoo,

and then only under the supervision of a specialized staff

who would be so specialized that they would never think

to let a penguin and a polar bear meet.

When do we get a decision?

The electoral committee meets on Saturday

and they take twenty-four hours to review the materials

and then they'll let us know...

if anything is missing...

Everything accepted and in the clear.

A done deal.

Congratulations.

This is great. -Brilliant.

You have a legal campaign.

I was awake until half past three last night.

We attend to things like child services our kindergartens, our schools,

services for the elderly, urban planning, transportation and traffic,

environmental issues, all these difficult and complex tasks.

There you can see Hanna Birna's, the mayor, trendsetter.

She dresses exactly like Skuli the Sheriff.

With that lace like Skuli's...

And those sleeves. -Right.

And that eighties jacket like the one Skuli always wore.

No, it's nasty to say that.

She's stunning. -Yes, stunning.

It's Mother's Day today. -Yes, exactly.

Did you all forget? -I went out this morning, my dear,

with my son, and we picked flowers for his mom.

I posted Mama with the Spice Girls on Facebook, for myself.

A single mom...

The city of Reykjavik gives single moms a gift on Mother's Day.

This is brilliant. Where is the pad?

This is the best idea you've ever had.

It could be difficult to control since they could be living with someone.

We could check their Facebook status;

those who say they're single on Facebook, are single.

They are, okay.

I thought it would be boring, like buying an apartment.

That you would have to sit through something like,

"Now Mr. Thorbjorn, the bore, will read through the regulations."

"My name is Sigfinn and I'm running for office."

They didn't even show...

They didn't even react when you fell down.

I fell down.

She fell backwards.

And I jumped up and they...

I think they're still sitting there.

I was glad when she said that it was over.

I am this city and the city is me.

My career started right up there,

to tell you the truth. -At Adalstodin Radio?

Behind that balcony was X-ID Radio,

and I would go to that balcony to smoke.

All these buildings... The Salvation Army, I lived there. -You did?

Yeah, I had a room on the second floor.

I've been inside there with a hidden microphone,

the old Mail and Telegraph building.

I put on a fake mustache, walked past the guard: "Good day", I said.

"Good day", he replied, and opened the door for me.

And I just walked through.

And there I found...

We were doing a live broadcast and I was walking around in there

and a whole army of people were looking for me...

I found a ballroom in there, and this was many years ago.

And I said live on air: Sigurjon, there is a ballroom in here.

And it was what's now the club NASA, and nobody knew about it.

So many things are hidden inside large government institutions.

I found it, and Pall Oskar was listening,

and he said: "We have to organize this, this club."

And he called the Prime Minister, David Oddsson, and said:

"I want you to sell the Mail and Telegraph building."

And that was the beginning of privatization. -Yeah, that was when it all started.

Look how nicely they have done all this,

all the details and everything, so beautiful.

And then they put this blue and yellow crap, that IKEA stuff,

on the front of the building just to ruin it,

just so that it's not perfect.

"Let's put something really ugly..."

Nineties something...

"a nineties IKEA sign on the front of the house,

so that nobody can say that it's perfect."

The yellow and blue IKEA sign, take that down. -Yes, enough of that.

About a year ago I saw an interview on the news

with the CEO for IKEA, for that new IKEA in the town of Gardabær.

It's very strange; it just suddenly appeared.

Very strange, you didn't see it going up over time...

It just...

kind of landed there.

And the commercial: don't you remember the commercial

they showed on TV after it opened?

There was a couple, a guy and a girl,

in some kind of hollow making out,

and suddenly the girl looks up...

And there is IKEA!

And this was at the exact same time

that everybody was protesting the enlargement of the aluminum smelter.

Everybody was protesting against the smelter,

but they all had their backs turned to the IKEA.

It's so easy to throw up an IKEA since the whole thing comes in boxes and...

And while everybody was protesting,

"No big smelter!"

the Swedes showed up and...

and screwed together this big building.

So there was this interview with the CEO

and he said that IKEA had a certain policy,

that when they opened up a store somewhere

they calculated the area of the store in proportion to the local population.

And this is the normal procedure for IKEA:

we're going to open a store here

so how many people live in the area?

And then the store becomes that many square meters of IKEA.

They always do it like that,

until they opened the IKEA in Iceland.

IKEAs as big as the one in Gardabaer

don't exist anywhere where there are fewer than one million people.

It's crazy.

And this tells you that one Icelander in his daily coming and goings

is equal to four or five foreigners.

I will be like this in four years time.

After a year.

Graying hair...

And reading glasses.

Right, it began as a joke

and then I had to deal with the great problems facing the city

and the very difficult tasks that await us

in these trying financial circumstances...

with reading glasses.

It could happen

that I would suddenly wake up one day...

It felt uncomfortable...

I've done this in a threefold manner:

by being sincere, with charisma and by being myself,

with comedy but also seriousness,

with reason.

And I started out the interview as the simpleton

but it was the wrong disguise, and I wasn't able to change it.

And that was amateurish and it felt uncomfortable.

The party has on its agenda to merge Reykjavik with the town of Kopavogur,

to put a polar bear in the zoo and to encourage those interested

to adopt drunks who live on the streets.

Jon Gnarr is in the studio.

Welcome to the show. -Thank you.

You want to be the mayor and have the perks that come with it:

a private chauffeur, a telephone and all that...

You'll be the highest-ranking city official and vast sums of money

will be directed your way... -You're stressing me out with this.

But this is the reality. -Yes...

What experience do you have running anything?

Do you have experience as a CEO, and how successful were you?

We had talked about this.

That thing with... them digging up something.

But I had completely forgotten about it and I was just...

I'll be direct: Didn't you run a company that failed?

And not that many years ago? -Well...

It was a misunderstanding.

I hadn't looked into it myself and I didn't remember it

so I was taken by surprise.

But we talked about placing the blame on Sigurjon.

Yeah, I remembered that.

Yes, it was a complete misunderstanding, and Sigurjon, who ran the company with me,

is the one who's to blame for it.

Wasn't he a spokesman for your party here on TV the other day?

Yes, but he's not any longer. -But are you...?

About the company, we paid off all our debts

so I can't understand how it was bankrupt.

I just don't understand that.

And...and...

Sorry, what was the question? -We're out of time.

Thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you, and now we turn to music.

A farmer from Skagafjordur, Johann Mar Johannsson,

recently released his CD "My View".

Johann comes from a family of music lovers

and he's going to sing an old American ballad for us:

"I Wonder Who Is Kissing Her Now".

And we'll end the show on that note.

"I can't understand how it was bankrupt as we paid off all our depts".

There was something else too...

So the rise of the party has been phenomenal, did you expect this at the beginning?

Yes, I did.

I was at the kindergarten this morning with my son Bensi

and there was some kind of birthday where everyone was supposed to wear blue,

and I had completely forgotten...

He has a knack for looking on the bright side

and he said: "There's a blue stripe on my socks, Mom."

"Yeah, my dear, you're right. I didn't forget."

It was all planned.

The other parties that where present before, before you started the party,

seem to be responding very hostile to your success

How have you been experiencing there reaction?

Yes they have been very hostile and...

Get rid of that airport.

People in this city can't enjoy peace

and quiet because of the airplanes...

There are kids' pictures on the wall in the kindergarten

and underneath them are captions

that say what the picture is supposed to be about...

A picture of...

A human caricature...

and somebody had written underneath:

"My dad who is a mayor and a king."

Here comes another one.

so your main thing is that people have seen the HBO series The Wire

Is there anything particular that people should take to heart?

No just watch it and have a discussion about it

I am not going to work with people that did not like it.

who is your favorite character in The Wire?

Omar

Did you know that Barack Obama said the same thing? No.

what else do you have in common with Barack Obama?

I am white.

Did he really say that? -Yeah, that Omar...

Omar is so great.

He is so amazing.

Strange that he should die just randomly in a...

Yeah, but have you read about the actor? -Yes.

The scar and everything,

it's all for real...

He's my friend on Facebook.

Now, a month before the municipal elections,

the Best Party has jumped up in the polls,

almost doubling its support since the last poll.

...has 23.4% and would get four out of fifteen city council members

and is the second-largest party in the city...

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the service agent at the bank

and we had 64,000 kronur in our account,

and we had collected 15,000 kronur in one day,

and then after the poll results my mother called

and said that she would transfer some money into our account...

My mom will vote for us; she's ninety-something...

Or almost ninety.

And she was so happy. I spoke to her just now and she said,

"You've wiped out the Progressives."

She's in a retirement home. "And this would have made your father happy."

My dad forbade mentioning the Progressives on Sundays.

He was a Stalinist, he subscribed to "News from the Soviet Union",

and Mom on the other hand was from old conservative stock,

and the Progressives were not to be mentioned.

My grandmother, my mom's mom, cried

when my parents started dating,

and the leftist newspaper started showing up, and she shouted,

"I can't stand the sight of this in my home."

And Dad asked the paperboy to put the paper into the garbage shed,

and he had to smuggle the paper into the house.

My grandmother would tear it up and throw it away.

I'm often asked if we plan to run for parliament too.

What should I say? -Say yes.

Yeah, right, a complete takeover.

I want to see a 100% increase in the next poll.

We should shoot for ten representatives.

I want to waste this totally.

Our clients are the people of this city.

We can't ever belittle the people or make fun of them

but this doesn't apply to politicians.

We can make fun of them since we're representing the nation,

and we are making fun of them.

Like when I walked out while that woman

was giving a speech.

Soley, yeah...

The present majority still emphasizes worldly things...

I consider these elections to be...

I still say that care, honesty and justice...

or like they say in Thailand...

Don't you find this boring? -What?

This panel. -No.

This is politics...

I find it extremely boring.

I've never attended anything like this before.

I've been in the working group since I began this work

in the committee at the beginning of 2008

and I've found it difficult to express myself

about immigrant issues in Icelandic.

We had more projects going on, such as meetings with immigrants and...

And then I became anxious that they wouldn't stop talking,

that they would just talk and talk and talk...

And you had to pay an entrance fee.

That was a shock...

Everything good here in Iceland has come from abroad

but we have never appreciated that nor been grateful.

The man who first imported a WC to Iceland

was persecuted and made fun of.

We are the people who invented pink mayonnaise

and nobody can teach us anything; everybody should learn from us.

They should just drink Icelandic water, eat mutton and be happy.

No journalist could tolerate coming there for even ten minutes,

because, "Yeah, okay, the most boring people in the world.

No, I think I'll go down to the city pond instead to take pictures of the ducks."

Everybody is welcome in Moominvalley.

Moominpapa, Moominmama and Moomintroll are all Moomins,

but not the Snork Maiden, as many people think.

You might think that the Snork Maiden is a Moomin, but she isn't.

She has just adapted to the Moomin society.

She's a actually a snork.

The only one not welcome in Moominvalley is the Groke,

and that's only because he's boring.

Thank you.

That was pointless, totally pointless.

So that's the conclusion if we think about it.

Like life.

Isn't it totally pointless?

Hi, everybody. I started the Best Party as a joke

and I have always tried to make people happy

and improve their lives if possible...

and I said right from the start that if this became boring

I would stop doing it.

And as things have gone on I've started having doubts;

it was all becoming more serious and annoying,

and the last few days have been very difficult.

So after thinking things through carefully

I have decided to withdraw the Best Party from the city elections.

Just kidding.

Now it's finally getting exciting

and I have risen from the ashes

like the bird Felix.

Thank you.

Go Reykjavik!

"HOORAY FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS!"

There are two kinds of people in this country:

Those who know the difference between hail and sleet

because they have the experience and have been cold,

and they know how it feels to be cold...

and to try to start their wreck of a car with a dead battery,

and somebody starts honking behind you...

There are the people who have experienced this.

And then there are those people in this country

who have never been there,

have never come out for...

If the battery is dead in their car they have another car.

Yeah, they fetch it from the garage.

And they have never been cold, have never had any worries,

have never had back pain,

and they have convinced everyone else

that it's best that they themselves run everything

because they're never cold and have plenty of time.

Politicians and the rich, those who have been in power here,

have always treated artists very badly and shown them incredible disrespect,

like when Halldor Laxness won the Nobel Prize

the government ministers didn't even show up to greet him, but the people did.

The people of Reykjavik showed up to celebrate

because they were proud of him.

But it was political...

It didn't suit the politicians.

Twenty minutes past.

Aren't you just going to try on some clothes?

The first episode of "The Wire" is a bit difficult.

I watched it and I thought, This is boring.

But then it's brilliant.

You look a bit nerdy.

How is this?

Yeah, you look like a policeman

who's going to bust some bootleggers.

Yeah, I come from the past.

So shall we drive him there like this?

All done.

What's it about, then? -It's about...

And then the car does this, turns itself off, often.

Yeah.

This is what I was talking about.

And then somebody's going to honk.

It'll start. We just have to wait.

Hey, can you help us push the car? -Sure.

It's so wonderful...

And because it's so guided, what we're doing,

just like we were talking about, to have experienced this situation.

This should make it clear

that we know what it's like to sit in the rain,

with the car not starting - although nobody honked -

but we can add that later. -Yeah.

But on the road at four o'clock, or half past four

on Tuesday... -And it just started raining.

The only thing missing is a baby crying in the backseat.

That would make this all perfectly Icelandic.

I once appeared on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

for a good cause, along with Sigurjon,

and the second or third question

was which German emperor was called "the Iron Chancellor",

and there were three choices, and I knew right away

that it was Otto von Bismarck,

and I said so and Sigurjon didn't trust me;

he always thinks he knows and then he's wrong.

"It's Hitler or someone like that", he said. "No, it's Bismarck", I said.

"We'll guess Hitler", he said. Wrong answer,

and we won just a hundred thousand or something.

I fell like I am going to vomit blood.

With this one you will win.

I say here: "I grew up in a family

and my father was a Stalinist and a revolutionary Communist.

I joined the revolutionary Communists when I was sixteen

and I read everything on dialectical materialism,

which I frankly didn't understand..."

I was in a reading group and we read books by Lenin,

With the Communist with the beard who is always angry.

"Later, with the punks, I became an anarchist

but as I got to know people better this developed into individualism.

You should just do what you want without bothering others.

I actually adhere to realistic rationalism..."

I don't even remember giving this interview.

My opponents need to get a hold of this.

We are of the opinion

that the political powers here in Iceland milk the city of capital,

that those who run the city use the city's money for themselves.

The only recourse for those who don't like us

is to use scare tactics, which are well known in politics.

The power of nightmares...

Scare us... Things will fall apart... What about the children?

And the underprivileged?

And the city will not be run on jokes and so on...

But we counter them by saying that the city can be run on comedy

since comedy is both a creative and a productive way of thinking

which makes people happy.

But the way these people have behaved,

there is nothing creative or joyful about that.

They always show the same sour faces

as they shovel money under their own asses.

We've made a fabulous video

and now we've opened this great campaign office

which we will try to keep open as much as possible.

Now we will launch the video

and this song, which will take the world by storm.

And we were given special permission from Tina Turner.

We want a city that is cuddly, warm and clean.

And topnotch stuff as a general rule.

Stop the usual bluffs.

Doing better isn't all that tough.

Fountains, wild animals and electric trains.

No more concrete and steel messing up our brains.

Send it all back.

I wrote to Tina, asking whether I could set the song

to Icelandic lyrics, and she said yes...

We are the best

I wrote to iketurner@gmail.com and received a reply,

not from him, though, but from a guy who handles his mail.

Yeah, his estate. -Yeah.

Gimme a B gimme an E gimme an S gimme a T.

Best...Best...Best...Best...

Tell the squatters in charge that it's time to leave.

The blathering loons...

And he gave me Tina Turner's mail and I wrote to her,

just on the offhand chance,

asking whether we could set the song to Icelandic lyrics.

All by yourself on election day

The ballot looking lifeless and a little gray.

You have to choose, it's all such a mess...

And it came about that she is very interested in Iceland

and that her friend owns an Icelandic pony...

Fellow citizens,

the time has come for everyone in Reykjavik to look inside their hearts,

to discuss with their families and friends,

Do I want a bright future with the Best Party

or do I want Reykjavik destroyed?

And she is a fan of Icelandic design, as long as it's made from fish scales.

Yeah, red fish scales. -Yeah, right.

All kinds of things for the unfortunates!

Disneyland in the Vatnsmyri area!

A drug-free parliament by 2020!

Sustainable transparency!

Out with Bj**i Ben and in with Einar Ben!

Tollbooths on the border with Seltjarnarnes!

Do away with all debt!

Free access to Hljómskálagarðurinn!

Economize, we only need one Santa!

And...and...we will not accept mediocrity

because we want the Best!

You get ahead by being sincere. -Yeah.

And I can't imagine being angry with you. -Yes, exactly.

I don't know... -Joga, my wife can't.

She starts to cry if she tries to be angry with me.

And I think if the people are angry at somebody

it's not us. -No.

If they're angry it's towards those others who will be there.

So we can... That will play into our hands.

She was very angry when I bought the kangaroo steak.

She threw a tantrum. -Joga?

Is it still in the freezer?

Am I going to get kangaroo steak on Friday? -No, that was a joke.

No, she said...

Did you buy kangaroo steak at six thousand per kilo?

No, it was on a deal, sixteen hundred for half a kilo.

And I bought four portions and they told me

it would go well with baked potatoes since it was similar to beef.

And she had asked me to get something easy and quick to cook,

something she could cook...

No, I was supposed to cook

and when she came home

there was frozen kangaroo steak and baked potatoes on the table.

Now I'm supposed to speak to some old people.

The old folks are always on the phone...

Senior citizens, Jon.

...and have no time for us younger people.

The goal of the party is to fight stagnation and boredom

with joyfulness and creative thinking.

Our slogan for the issues of the elderly is:

Let's not bore the old people to death.

Kindergarten fees? Are we lowering them or keeping them the same?

We're keeping them as they are.

I want to ax all kindergartens and privatize them. -Really?

No, I'm joking.

Once I had to act the part of a guy who was a loverboy in old folks' home

and he had to French kiss an old woman with false teeth and so on.

I was so miserable doing it.

I find it uncomfortable to French kiss someone I don't know.

I've never done that.

I need to know people before I start French kissing them.

So you've never done it while clubbing?

No, never.

I've never gone to a club

and met a woman or a man

and gone home afterwards and French kissed them.

I haven't even been drunk enough to even think about it.

Then I wanted, for the first time in my life, to take heroin.

All feelings would die, all inhibitions too.

And moral conscience would be like it had never existed.

I felt a bit like that a moment ago, but not anymore. -A moment ago?

Because of that meeting? -Yeah.

Is that right? -Yeah.

Suddenly something just got to me.

What were you afraid they were going to ask you about?

I fear that the monster divisions have been meeting

and planning questions to unsettle me.

And I have to weather that,

but I'll come on as Laura Ingalls and if somebody upsets me

I'm going to be Charles, her father.

The latest theory is

that the only reason for the campaign is the movie being made about it.

And the music video cost into the millions

so there must be somebody with money financing the movie.

What am I doing?

Is the mike on me all right? -Yes.

I'm so professional.

You can't even see the clip.

I'm about to go to a meeting with the city employees,

a deadly panel discussion.

Now I'm going to get killed.

Jon Kristinsson Gnarr is more corrupt in politics

before he even begins than I am after twenty years.

You shall hear about that and you can make fun of us...

It's maybe not boring but it gets boring.

They're all acting nice before the meeting,

saying, "Are you gonna keep to light topics?" And then they begin.

"Transportation..."

And then they go on for 20 minutes

and not one word of what they say is interesting.

Our guiding light in this campaign is cooperation

but Soley is for raising taxes and we figure that it

comes to about 540 million which we would get from your pockets...

700. -400...540...

In my opinion the Independents don't want to talk about their politics

or their ideology... -I didn't say that.

...but I am, and they have toned down their policies in the campaign

and talk now about cooperation and so on...

And lowering taxes.

I see this campaign as a choice between a bright and fun future

with the Best Party or whether people want to destroy Reykjavik.

Another idea about the valley...

We want to build a dinosaur theme park there

with the dinosaurs that acted in Jurassic Park.

No one knows where those dinosaurs are today

but we want to import them and adapt them to the Icelandic climate.

There could be a theme park for the family there in the valley.

I was in a children's and juvenile psychiatric clinic

and there was the question of whether I had enough intelligence

to attend school.

And they weren't sure whether I was mentally retarded

or brain-damaged.

I have the documentation for all of it.

It's very interesting, but it was all a misunderstanding.

"All kinds of things for the underprivileged" What do you mean by that?

Just what it says.

If a city or a society can't take care of those who are down and out,

what can such a society then do?

We were going to conquer the world

but we couldn't even build decent housing for our criminals, for instance.

But we were going to build convention centers, thinking big.

It's there at the end.

Who are you going to vote for?

I don't know.

I was going to vote blank if you guys weren't running.

What I'm interested in

is if you guys would like to be consultants for the Best Party

on the issues for the handicapped.

It would be great if these guys would join us.

They're just great guys. -Yeah, and we need them.

He said it was clearly visible, "ÍNN" opposite Kronan.

Where is Dagur? -He called and said he couldn't make it

and that Hjalmar Sveinsson would come in his place.

Is Hjalmar on his way? -Apparently.

Is Hjalmar on his way? -Apparently.

Will you, just to make it clear, start by introducing Einar?

Just tell me when you start recording.

Okay, we're ready.

Less space on the top, just 2 cm.

Yeah, I was thinking of the frame. -No, less space.

Like this? -Yeah, okay.

Okay, let's start then. Three, two... -What did you say?

Start, please.

On my right is Jon Gnarr for the Best Party,

and next to him is Einar Árn Skulason, who leads... -Einar Skulason.

Is your name not Einar Árn Skulason? -No.

Just Einar Skulason.

I'll do it again. Give me a minute.

So it's only Einar Skulason? -Yeah.

Let's get on with it.

Okay, start again.

Okay. Three, two...

Good evening.

How long did it take, two hours?

He made us watch his whole movie.

Okay, start the movie.

It was in the year 874

that the high seat pillars of the first fugitive

who settled here drifted ashore...

The high-rises you show there...

The fact is that until we are all dead, those of us here on the set...

How far away that is I don't dare guess.

But the next fifty years... -Don't be so negative.

Therefore I ask you now, since the municipal elections are coming up

and hopefully we're heading toward different times,

Don't we need, above all, a mayor for Reykjavik

who is confident that he can direct the movie?

It was once fashionable in the theater that everybody should direct the play,

and that was the worst theater that has ever existed.

Every movie needs a director, and every city a mayor.

I think we need a mayor who can lead

and is accepted by all,

and who can unite different factions,

and can be a bit funny

so that we can get an ending like Constable Bastian created

for Cardamom Town.

We need a Bastian.

We need to ask about Hanna Birna. She's the mayor of Reykjavik

and we never see her.

Where is Hanna Birna? Where is the mayor?

I'm on my way to do an interview on TV.

The Best Party is now the largest party in the city, with a clear majority.

The party is stealing support from the larger parties

and is now larger than the Alliance and the Independents combined.

This means that the present majority of the Independents and the Progressives

is out and that the Social Democratic Alliance has a long way to go,

with the elections due about a week from now.

The Independents with three, the Alliance with three,

the Left Greens with one,

and the Best Party with eight.

Everybody wants to vote for the Best Party.

Doesn't everybody just want what's best?

People are bored with inferior stuff. They want what's best.

If this is the result a week from now

it's a clarion call from the citizens for a change in emphasis.

It means that the Best Party

is entrusted with running the city for the next four years,

and it will not be Dagur and I who will be called to answer

but the representatives of the Best Party

who will perform that great task.

We are still waiting for the Best Party to tell us and others

what they have in mind.

Do you think this is a message from people

that they have become tired of the current political parties

or do you think people trust you to be the next mayor?

Yes, I think that's more the case, that people trust me

and see in me an unknown force, up until now, for unity,

that can unify the different factions in the city

and lead them toward agreement.

I think it's primarily that,

and then it's also all these great ideas we have.

Great, thank you.

How is it going?

This is like a great adventure.

Like Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

What the elections are about,

I'm hoping that towards the end they will be more about Reykjavik.

When I was called to this meeting

I was told the topic would be students' issues.

These are important issues. Education is wonderful,

bigotry and stupidity are abysmal and in no way the best.

You are a new force, and I was talking to the Progressives

and they pointed out that they are the oldest political party,

but you have ten times the support they have.

Are people so fed up with politics or is your agenda so superior?

We have a great agenda and we're doing things

that are unusual for Icelandic politics, and that is being original.

I think people tend to forget in this whole discussion

that we take care of extremely important tasks.

I, like so many,

have surprised myself by being a news addict.

It began two years ago,

and I started going to websites, reading the papers

and trying to somehow understand it all.

I started to follow this

and it began to dawn on me what I have always known,

that politics is such a big joke, and great theater.

No woman should have to wonder

whether she can put her child into kindergarten.

whether she can put her child into kindergarten.

And I really wanted to do something,

to have an influence and maybe change the mind-set

so that people would become more normal

and start speaking a language you can understand.

And I wanted more sincerity

and to make fun of all that I considered to be wrong in all of this.

We in the Best Party got into politics

because we really were against politics.

We found politics extremely boring

and we never knew of politics unless there was trouble,

some scandal or some other mess,

and it had become a bit like the drunk uncle

who dominates the party.

So I say that Reykjavik has done well in recent months,

done as well as could be expected under these circumstances.

I'm lucky that my name is late in the alphabet

so I have listened to my colleagues here

and much is spoken of politics and much about the others.

This reminds me of the heyday of the punk era.

People started talking about what was real punk,

and that so and so was not a punk

and that the other guy was playing disco and so on.

From that point on punk died

and everything since became boring misery,

so I'll leave you with the thought of

whether it's maybe time for more punk and less hell?

Thank you.

Fuck the system!

Fuck the system!

Fuck the system!

They all talk the same bullshit.

The system is way out of date.

Now everyone together say,

Fuck the system.

The future of hope is...

Fuck the system.

Hello again, you're listening to Radio Saga

and with us are some guests you should be thinking of

at this moment and in the coming days

since we don't know who'll be the next mayor;

they are Hanna Birna, the current mayor, and Jon Gnarr.

At the beginning of your campaign you said that this was something of a joke,

that you were making fun of politics

and you did some sketches making good-natured fun of the system.

And maybe people are a bit confused.

If you say it's not a joke, you have to be serious all the way through

and explain how you're going to deal with the issues and the finances.

These are important matters.

We run 98 schools...98 kindergartens and 46 primary schools

and dozens of recreational centers and services for the elderly.

We provide extensive services and the city has an important role...

The attitude I sense towards me among politicians

is that since I'm a comedian, they think everything is a joke,

that my life is some kind of a joke

and that I live in a comedy bubble,

but that's far from the truth.

I'm the father of five, I have a child in kindergarten,

I buried my father, and I had a child with a long-term illness...

I was not a comedian then.

I'm not a comedian when I pay my bills

or when I'm raising my children.

Have you ever been poor, Jon? -Yes, I've been poor,

and unemployed and working and then lost my job.

But what we want to bet on and emphasize

is to support creativity among young people,

and this is something that politicians...

I've become aware of it in the criticism towards me and the party,

that we are just a bunch of artists,

as if this is something negative.

And they completely ignore that Icelandic artists

have won accolades for this nation all over the world,

and we should give them the respect that's due to them

and not speak to them like second-class citizens.

And then a quiz show, asking me about Reykjavik.

Me, who never remembers anything.

Mail from you? -Yes, mail from me.

Is this a joke or are you being serious?

It's totally serious,

but we've certainly resorted to jokes to attract attention.

We've been told that some things are so serious and boring

that you can't touch them

and that other things are so crazy and irresponsible...

I think it's a misunderstanding.

Everything should be enjoyable if addressed with the right attitude

and with your heart in the right place.

It came about tonight when everything was quiet

that the summer tiptoed into town; it was not here...

For a while I was feeling like I was

swimming in the ocean and suddenly in very deep waters,

and the octopuses and the sharks were getting closer.

Will Reykjavik be more joyful

over the next four years than before?

Yes, absolutely.

Triangle jingle, what will happen next?

Doggies wag their tail

The frogs croak with the snail

While the birds sing

and the bells ring.

And now the cuckoos coo, the flowers bloom.

I'm happy with my friends.

The sun is shining in my eyes.

Hello, summer, please come closer,

Everywhere is fun and frenzy, everybody brimming with joy.

It's no longer cold.

Let's have a soda...

Dogs are jumping, frogs are jumping. Summer has arrived.

The first results in these historical city elections

will be known in three and a half hours.

The results will indicate

whether the Best Party gets a clear majority in Reykjavik.

Good evening, here are the first counted votes in Reykjavik.

Overall numbers of voters are 85.779.

The Independents...

This is extremely interesting; 6,800 votes have been counted...

A great event is under way...

This is totally unbelievable...

We're not far away now...

I've never been such a star.

I've been a star here for years and years

but have never climbed to such heights before.

We love you, Jon. -Thanks.

The paranoia started about ten days ago

when I sensed that people really started the mudslinging in earnest.

I sensed that...

I sensed that and...

And around the same time

I realized that politics

has little to do with ideals but much more about vested interests.

I'm calling my wife and she's surely not going to answer,

having accidentally put the phone on silent.

This is so much fun...

If a name is struck out on the ballot

it's put aside and not counted.

I see.

So those votes still remain to be counted. -Yes, exactly.

So the Progressives, they got 13 votes on this first count.

It's a reporter from the Morning paper. Do you want to speak to him?

Yeah, everything is very good.

I'm very happy.

I haven't done anything like this before

so I don't really know how it goes,

and I've never watched the elections on TV.

Yes, it's been great fun.

It's exciting and interesting to experience something new,

something that is completely different

from what one has done before.

I think this event must be on a global scale.

Maybe we have a new product for export here.

Other nations can possibly learn from us

how to create a Best Party to govern themselves.

The simpleton never fails.

But it's true, Gaukur. I'm slow to realize things,

but when I catch fire I'm unstoppable

and nobody can control me.

I think I can certainly say that if this result holds,

or something similar to it,

then these are the most extraordinary city elections

of all time here in Iceland.

I want to shout later,

"Viva la revolution!"

holding a Cohiba cigar.

But I have to say that

I would be surprised if Jon Gnarr becomes mayor in the end.

This is fun, Gaukur. -Yes, this is fun.

You don't do something like this often.

No, you don't do something like this often.

This is a trip I haven't taken before.

We should remember this day, guys.

And I've done a striptease in the largest gay club in New York.

And you've smoked crack. -Yes.

This is surreal, and I'm no expert in surrealism

so I can't offer an opinion at the moment

about these numbers.

I'm ready to meet with everybody and to discuss everything,

but then I don't know yet who has watched "The Wire".

We're not there yet.

We'll just keep on messing with them throughout the night.

We've reached the point of no turning back.

I like Hanna Birna, the mayor,

but I can't stand the party she belongs to.

I don't like that Dagur Eggerts,

but I think the party he belongs to is okay.

It's very strange.

I can't say that to these people.

Did you watch me on TV?

Yeah, and I'm not an expert on surrealism.

Who were we talking about? -Bogi the soundman?

No, we where not talking about him.

No, when you were outside and we wanted to fire you

and hire somebody else. -We were talking about Bogi.

Yes, we're two minutes away.

Tell them to relax. We will be there in time.

We did, after all, make a revolution. -You don't say.

Hooray for all kinds of things!

It's such a pleasure

to see so many happy and beautiful people

gathered together.

I want very much to thank everybody

who has made this possible.

I have tried, all my life,

to do things that are good and constructive

but I've never been as happy

with anything I've done as I am with the Best Party.

And finally I'd like to say,

Welcome to the revolution

Hooray for all kinds of things!

We are the best

The most best party

The best in Reykjavik

The city without compare.

The system is sour

It's time to clean house.

So let us now start, a new chapter begins.

Good evening.

All votes in Reykjavik have now been counted:

The Progressives, 1,629 votes.

The Independents, 20,006 votes.

The Reykjavik Campaign, 681 votes.

The Liberals, 274 votes.

The Campaign for Honesty and Public Good, 668 votes.

The Social Alliance, 11,344 votes.

The Left Greens, 4,255 votes.

The Best Party, 20,666 votes.

The new mayor of Reykjavik, Jon Gnarr.

Everybody is happy.

Don't do it.

Please.

Here is the key for your office.

I had a very pleasant time while I was here.

Are you excited?

Here are the papers.

Shall I sign these?

Yeah, that loan agreement for the Reykjavik Power Plant...

Sign that.

No problem.

And then this promissory note.

Sign here. -Right.

So this is for Magma Energy Corp. -Magma, yes.

Regina is on her way, the mayor's office manager.

Everyone wants to meet you in your office.

I don't know if I want to, or if I have the time right now.

This computer is for you.

It's the city's.

Reykjavik citizens own it. Can't I connect to the wireless?

Dear co-workers, it has been decided

that the tomorrow will be celebrated in a special way

and be named Good Day Day.

On Good Day Day

one should be especially kind to one's fellows;

greet them with a "Good day".

This is done to increase brotherly love.

If it's possible in Cardamom Town

then I think it's also possible in Reykjavik.

Good day!

Good day!

Good day!

Good day!

I hope, my dear co-workers, that you will take to this kindly

and help us to make Good Day Day

an unforgettable day in our city.

I wish you a happy good day

and I hope that this will become a yearly event in Reykjavik

and maybe even a daily occurrence.

Thanks.