Set at the start of the twentieth century, the movie deals with the orphaned boy ĂlfgrĂmur, his adoptive grandparents, and the small, tolerant community of misfits and eccentrics they gather around them at Brekkukot, their cottage in ReykjavĂk. As ĂlfgrĂmur begins to encounter the minor politicians, businessmen and social-climbers of the growing town of ReykjavĂk he starts to question his future as a fisherman's grandson, and is increasingly fascinated by GarĂ°ar HĂłlm, the celebrated Icelandic "world singer" whose sporadic returns to Iceland encourage ĂlfgrĂmur to pursue his own personal goals of self-expression. He discovers the true value of his boyhood experiences only as he sets out on a path that will take him away from them forever.
