A High-Profile Action Director Trades Bullets For Romance In His Newest Movie

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur made a handful of smaller films before bursting into mainstream Hollywood with the Mark Wahlberg action flick "Contraband" in 2012. He's stayed steadily busy ever since, cranking out the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg actioner "2 Guns" in 2013, the ensemble mountain climbing thriller "Everest" in 2015, the Shailene Woodley/Sam Claflin survival movie "Adrift" in 2018, and the "Idris Elba fights a lion" movie "Beast" in 2022, plus directing a couple of television shows in between. As those credits indicate, Kormákur is primarily known to American audiences for his high-octane filmmaking style. His latest project, however, marks a significant change of pace.

"Touch," written by Kormákur and Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (based on a novel by Ólafsson), tells the story of Kristófer, an elderly Icelander whose wife has passed away. Spurred on by some health issues of his own and sense that he's running out of time, Kristófer sets out to find a woman named Miko, his first love from 50 years earlier. Modern-day Kristófer's quest is intercut with flashbacks showing how the two met in London decades earlier and fell for each other, and the current storyline brings him closer and closer to potentially reuniting with her after all of these years. Will he actually find her? What drove them apart in the first place? And will they be able to reconcile their love?

I saw an early screening of "Touch" recently and was impressed by how well Kormákur adapted to this genre. This is a stripped down story — the type of moving, romantic drama aimed at adults that's become an endangered species over the past couple of decades. If the director wants to take a sudden shift in his preferred mode of filmmaking at this stage in his career, I would greatly welcome seeing him make more movies in this mold.

As a fan of food-centric films like "Big Night," "Babette's Feast," and "The Taste of Things," I was delighted to realize how significant a role food plays in this film, too. "Touch" does not have enough cooking and mouth-watering food porn shots in it to be considered among the upper echelon of the all-time greatest food films, but it will definitely make you hungry in the best way. In flashbacks, we learn that Kristófer first met Miko when he dropped out of university to take a job at a Japanese restaurant, where Miko is the daughter of the immigrant owner. Many of the flashbacks track Kristófer's journey to learn the proper cooking methods necessary to make Japanese cuisine as their burgeoning relationship heats up.

"Touch" is not a light, frothy rom-com. The unspoken ticking clock element adds a layer of immediacy to the proceedings, and eventually, one especially serious subject arises that isn't often covered in mainstream Hollywood releases. There are no zany misunderstandings, wacky hijinks, or eye-rolling break-ups that you know will be resolved before the end credits roll. While I love those tropes when deployed well, Kormákur makes Kristófer and Miko's relationship feel heartbreakingly real, and he's aided tremendously by restrained, excellent performances from Egill Ólafsson (old Kristófer), Palmi Kormákur (young Kristófer), and Kôki (young Miko), a model-musician-turned-actress who I wouldn't be surprised to see cast in many more projects after her particularly effective work here.

Baltasar Kormákur, I owe you an apology. In the words of Shaquille O'Neal, I wasn't really familiar with your game. I assumed you'd spend the rest of your Hollywood career making mid-budget thrillers and somewhat generic action movies (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but after seeing what you did with "Touch," my expectations have been completely recalibrated. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go from here.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Touch" hits theaters on July 12, 2024.