No Time To Die is the 25th installment in the 007 series. The film stands out as the first ever James Bond movie to include scenes from the Faroe Islands.
Scenes in the movie were filmed in Trøllanes village in 2019 for two days and the crew filmed at the nearby stunning Kallur Lighthouse for three days. Both attractions are located on the island's northernmost end, the most beautiful and impressive part of the island.
James Bond in the Faroe Islands
In late summer, especially in the northernmost islands in the Faroes, you will see mountains that seem to be plunging into the sea like the legendary Seal Woman. At this time of year, the mountains can be so magically emerald green that they appear twinkling in greenish-blue tints and shades above sea level, forming an illusional dramatic whole with their vibrating colours.
It therefore attests to a life-affirming fact that the most recent James Bond film, “No Time To Die,” has been shot in this very area.
Although the Faroe Islands were among the first countries in the North Atlantic to acquire a good cinema, remarkably few films have been shot in these distant islands. A Royal visit was filmed as early as 1907 when Nordisk Film, the world’s oldest film company, was on site to record the event. But when the King visited the Faroe Islands in 1927, the Faroese themselves owned the cameras and filmed the event in Tórshavn and in Tvøroyri.
In addition to high-profile visits by the King and other celebrities, several Faroese individuals have also filmed everyday life. Long-distance fishermen bought film cameras, both to show the big outside world to those at home - and to film the latest events in their own country, so that memories would be preserved and even viewed out on the fishing grounds.
This historical reality has laid the foundation for the cultural-historical interest in observing all things big and small on film, both outside and at home.
Here in recent times we have also come up with excellent stories about brave heroes and the very worst villains. However, the same stories have been told in heroic ballads, legends and fairy tales for the last thousand years. The accounts of the centuries have not changed in other ways than in prevalence and propagation.
We who have lived such isolated lives here at furthermost confines of the Gulf Stream are now being visited by the big outside world, because movie makers want to use our natural scenery for their current stories, where good confronts evil - and the valiant hero demonstrates that the world is in good hands.
While man-made challenges may seem quite gloomy, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and final redemption is in the hands of the hero. And who knows, maybe one day the hero will be a woman, like the Wonder Woman who saves the globe from destructive forces bent on conquering this materialistic world, just like the white male heroes have done so far in the movies.
It is therefore particularly gratifying that the Faroe Islands have drawn the greatest cinema hero to their shores in making his 25th film, “No Time To Die.” Although the scene is measured and will hardly be noticed by us who live here, it has significance as an object of fascination in the outside world, because the attraction of mountains and sea is strong and seductive. Despite being distant in reality, we are present in the movies because it is there we open up to adventures.
Therefore, it is imperative that we take good care of this God-given jewel, ameliorate and refine it so that we do not end up as a meaningless backdrop overrun by tourists.
The first challenge is to obtain the natural part of commercial film productions, so that we can develop our competence as a film nation in the North Atlantic. The second challenge is just as big because movies, being the most seductive medium, can encourage people from the outside world to visit our most favourite locations where there is only room for a few at a time.
Alongside local actors, farmers and the tourist industry, it is crucial to create lasting ties and a common perception of tourist experiences as more than just sharing a tax-technical cake on the drawing board.
The world’s most enduring accounts have never been closer than at persent. In front of the international movie screen, we must acknowledge that this is exactly where our biggest challenge lies today.
Birgir Kruse, film critic
