The Love that Remains is a 2025 Icelandic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May (where the family dog, Panda, won the Palm Dog award) and was released in the UK last Friday, 13 March.

It is a gentle comedy-drama, exploring a year in the life of a family as the parents separate. Anna (Saga Garðarsdóttir) is an artist working with natural materials and particularly their decomposition in the harsh Icelandic climate. She has decided that she no longer wishes to be married to Magnús (Sverrir Guðnason), a trawlerman who must constantly fight this unforgiving climate to make his living. He does not wish the marriage to end and spends whatever time he can with Anna and their three children (played by Pálmason’s own children).

We do not witness much conflict between the parents, and the film does not try to show us where the marriage went wrong. So perhaps this different approach to the climate, one working with the natural environment, one working against, is the best indication of the differences between them. This difference is also reflected in their approach to discipline, and we see that Magnús’s absence has a direct effect on the children’s approach to play, and on an accident that happens as a result of the less stringent discipline imposed by Anna.

Pálmason has said that he is more interested in “the narrative style and flow of films” than actual plotlines, and that is much in evidence here. Indeed, the plot is barely discernible; it is delivered as a collage of vignettes, focussing on mundane daily routines, awkward interactions, and surreal moments, much in the manner of Roy Andersson, whose influence is clear.

Ruben Östlund appears to be another strong Nordic influence on Pálmason: embarrassing, uncomfortable moments of family life are explored with a dry, observational eye, similar to Östlund’s Force Majeure, though less cynically, with Pálmason treating heavier topics with a light, observational touch.

The stark, but beautiful, landscape is an additional character within the film: Pálmason uses nature and the changing seasons to reflect the changing internal states within the family.

The Love That Remains is a unique blend of formal, almost painterly cinema with a heartwarming exploration of “love after love”. If you look for a strong clearly-defined plotline in your films, this one is not for you. If you are happy to spend time involving yourself in this family’s world, then you will not regret it.