When the Light Breaks

On a single day in Iceland, Diddi Baldur Einarsson and Una Elín Hall begin to navigate a fragile, evolving bond. They move from a sweeping ocean outlook to a shared home with mutual friend Gunni Mikael Kaaber, exchanging quiet conversations and intimate moments in bed. Diddi leaves early, and Una, hearing Gunni come home, slips out into the night. The moment is underscored by Jóhann Jóhannsson’s requiem, Odi et Amo, as lights in the dark swell into a tunnel scene that erupts into a massive fireball.

Mid-morning, Una and Gunni meet at the arts college where they and Diddi study. Una has not heard about the tunnel disaster—the worst in Iceland’s history—and she cushions Gunni as he reveals that Diddi may have been inside. The circle of friends gathers at a Red Cross center, where the devastating news lands: Diddi has died.

Una leaves to process the shock, then returns to the group at a bar, where she meets Klara Katla Njálsdóttir, Diddi’s girlfriend. Klara reveals that Diddi had described her as a lesbian, but Una opens up about her own pansexuality, noting that her last relationship was with a man. A private conversation between Una and Gunni confirms that Una and Diddi were having a covert affair, a truth Diddi had already shared with Gunni. The tension between secrecy and public perception lingers as Una contemplates her place in the wake of the tragedy.

Una confesses she resents Klara for standing as the public face of the couple, while she must simply be the grieving friend because their relationship was hidden. The country immerses itself in national mourning, and the friends attend an impromptu service at Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland’s largest church, to honor Diddi and reckon with their loss.

After the service, the group retreats to a house for a tearful, cathartic gathering. As the night winds down, Una and Klara stand on opposite sides of a glass door, their reflections merging in a quiet moment of shared sorrow and tentative connection. The film closes with them lying close together in bed, a fragile peace on the horizon. The opening sequence recurs in the closing shot as Odi et Amo replays, this time through a sunset-lit water reflection that mirrors the ocean outside.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:22