"The Good Heart" by Dagur Kari

"The Good Heart" by Dagur Kari was screened as part of the films in competition at the 9th International Film Festrival of Marrakech.

Lucas (Paul Dano) has come to an existential dead-end. He is young and homeless, living in a cardboard box under the Brooklyn Bridge. With total lack of prospects for the future, Lucas tries to commit suicide, but the attempt is a failure like everything else in his life. Recuperating in hospital, Lucas is forced to share a room with Jaques (Brian Cox), a grouchy old bar-owner whose unhealthy lifestyle has resulted in no fewer than five heart attacks. With no family and high risk of passing away any minute, Jaques takes Lucas under his wing with the intention of passing on his legacy. Lucas moves in and begins a hectic learning process in a bar with its own set of rules and philosophies. Against all odds, Jacques and Lucas form a quirky friendship. Everything seems to be going according to plan. Until one rainy night when April (Isild Le Besco), a drunken stewardess, strays into the bar. Lucas is unable to turn this beautiful stranger away and invites her to stay.

This poses a dramatic threat to Jacques’ plans and from the point on, things can only go wrong. Dagur Kari was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, to Icelandic parents, Kari moved to Iceland at the age of 3 and was raised there. He studied film directing in Copenhagen from 1995 to 1999. His graduation film Lost Weekend won many international awards. Kari’s first feature Noi Albino was released in 2003 and was a worldwide art-house hit. His second feature Dark Horse premiered in Cannes in Un Certain Regard, 2005. Kari is also a musician and has been a member of the duo slow blow since 1994. They have released several albums and composed the soundtracks to all Kari’s films.