Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We are playing catch up by reviewing films that are a part of the current awards season.
Every so often, I watch a film that I have to split between how I subjectively feel about it, and how it holds up objectively. So, it looks like Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is such an example of this personal dilemma. In short, Eurovision is a slight bit of a mess, but I just found it so heartwarming and fun to the point of being unable to be annoyed by it. Parts of it bothered me, but so much of it also brings me joy, even though I know very little about the titular event it is meant to be a love letter to. However, I do know enough to understand the huge appeal of this film, especially when it had to act as a replacement for the real thing last year due to the pandemic. Eurovision is so corny and theatrical but meant in good fun, and that’s exactly what Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is.
For a silly David Dobkin film featuring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams (their second collaboration after Wedding Crashers), Eurovision isn’t remotely as stupid as I anticipated, although there is enough of this goofiness to feel like another round for fans. Sometimes, these jokes get in the way and actually bother me; I’m referring to more of the fantastical element, including a running joke about the belief in elves in Iceland, or the ghost of a dead singer that was slated to represent Iceland at Eurovision. Otherwise, I find Ferrell mostly reserved (with the occasional Ferrell-ism, of course), and McAdams extremely faithful to the spirit and fun of Eurovision; even their accents aren’t obnoxious (Ferrell is simply Scandinavian, but McAdams is Icelandic through and through). I think I find the sillier moments to be pesky, because it’s also rare to find moments of pure beauty in works like this, and we get those too, here. You have celebrations of Eurovision, which are camp but genuine. Those are mostly the prettier moments, with the vibrant aesthetics and elaborate sets (hamster wheels included).
The climatic ballad is shockingly gorgeous, and a great opportunity seized, when other comedies would squander what such a moment could bring.
But it’s the climactic ballad “Husavik (My Hometown)” that really seals the deal. Any other comedy of this nature would have made this moment part of the joke: a tongue-in-cheek reward, or a huge mess. Nope. This song is so pure, that you’d be damned to find out that this is the film that it came from. That’s what I mean with Eurovision. Parts of it are so strong (I also was shocked to see how well shot this feature was). You do have the pitfalls of having the film run too long, have subplots that don’t go anywhere or serve any real purpose outside of being jokes, and the occasional comedic duds, so I can’t be too glowing about the film. But I can promise that it isn’t exactly what you might expect. True, the film is old enough now that the hype has died down, and it has found its audience, and I don’t think it will be on your radar now unless you already like it or are paying attention to the Oscars. Either way, I’m actually coming out and saying: this could be your thing, whether you realized it or not. It’s far from perfect, but, to be true to Iceland here and quote the great Björk, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is “full of love”, and that alone makes it cherish-able.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.