Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga


You gotta speed it up

And then you gotta slow it down


The idea of a film about Eurovision seems like it’ll provoke the same reaction as the contest itself. Some will give it a miss and some will go all-in because they’ve got their reasons: people love Eurovision ironically or they love to study the whole form—not just the night itself, but the entire build-up. There’s also the semi-patriotic rooting for your home song, which is not a good idea in most of Europe and specifically not Great Britain.


’Cause if you believe that our love can hit the top

You gotta play around

But soon you will find that there comes a time

For making your mind up


And this movie is for everyone except those people who avoid Eurovision. Whatever reason you have for watching the contest, you’re going to enjoy this film. It’s the story of a contemporary Icelandic entry written by Eurovision obsessive Lars Erikssong (Will Ferrel) and genuine aspiring musician Sigrid Eriksdottir (Rachel McAdams). Lars’s father Eric is not into Eurovision at all, but that to bury the lead: he is played by Bronhom himself. Yes, Pierce Brosnan is in this! In early scenes due respect is played to the proverbially tremendous Eurovision entry: which is of course “Waterloo”, and not Buck’s Fizz’s “Making your Mind Up”.


You gotta turn it on

And then you gotta put it out

You gotta be sure that it's something

Everybody’s gonna talk about

Before you decide that the times arrived

For making your mind up


The film could have been a spoof music documentary as it takes time to make fun of over-blown artistic types, in this case Kevin Swain (Jamie Demetriou) with his house full of self-regarding art. It’s also a little bit about how music business people can take a song and ruin it by adding a different style, in this case a celebrated K-Pop arranger drives a wedge between the Eurovision ambition and the artistic integrity. 


Don’t let your indecision

Take you from behind

Trust your inner vision

Don’t let others change your mind


Fire Saga gets their shot at Iceland’s Eurovision through some typically comic plot developments, and so the film sets up a situation where a lot of Icelandic folk are not behind their entry. This ought to ring bells with British audiences, although the lack of engagement in Eurovision combined with the national obsession with it is something very British.


And then you really gotta burn it up

And make another fly by night

Get a run for your money and take a chance

And it’ll turn out right

And when you can see how it's gotta be

You're making your mind up


As the story moves from heats to the final, we get to see some of the other entries. One of the terrific things about this film is that they have nailed the type of song that can have a shot, and they’ve included bizarre stage effects which are often every bit as much as a memorable lyric or a great song. Think of the Singing Grannies. In this case there’s the Lion back-projection in the Russian entry “Lion of Love”.


And try to look as if you don’t care less

But if you want to see some more

Bending the rules of the game will let you find

The one you're looking for

And then you can show that you think you know

You’re making your mind up


This film does have a skirt-pull moment and it’s a necessary one. It involves not just tensions between the performers but problems with the inevitable ridiculous stage effects. There aren’t technical disasters in genuine Eurovision, which is incredible given the outlandishness of some of the effects. Rather like the Miss World scenes in Misbehaviour, the simulation of the real thing never makes you think that it’s a pale imitation of what a genuine contest is like. The unlikeliness of the whole thing also calls to mind Fisherman’s Friends (and if they entered an original song they’d be pretty much in with a chance, wouldn’t they?)


Don't let your indecision

Take you from behind

Trust your inner vision

Don't let others change your mind


Somehow the film never makes you think it’s an underdog that comes from the back kind of race movie. It seems like that’s the only way to make a Eurovision movie that’s going to be fun to watch. It’s quite a bit better than that.


Not that it doesn’t go back to Iceland for the inevitable scene where the ‘home team’ is sat around in a bar watching it on TV. Bronhom’s patriarchal stone face looks like it might crack a perma-smile, but there isn’t a cinematic trope in the world that can stop you thinking that Pierce Brosnan is in a film where other unrelated stuff is relentlessly going on.


And now you really gotta speed it up (speed it up)

And then you gotta slow it down (slow it down)

’Cause if you believe that our love can hit the top

You gotta play around

But soon you will find that there comes a time

For making your mind up


The Story of Fire Saga takes a swerve from the predictable at the end, which is enough to make you snap out of the feeling that you’ve seen this sort of film before. Maybe this is not what most people want, but it elevates the whole thing. Will Ferrel seems like an unusual choice for a musical spoof film but from his first moment it’s almost possible to forget its him. He does the Icelandic accent, so does Rachel McAdams, but it’s not embarrassing. Not to say that it’d pass as authentic, but crucially this film doesn’t mock Iceland, and it has an affectionate go at Eurovision—but overall it seems to be a tribute.


And now you really gotta speed it up (speed it up)

And then you gotta slow it down (slow it down)

'Cause if you believe that our love can hit the top

You gotta play around

But soon you will find that there comes a time

For making your mind up

For making your mind up

For making your mind up

For making your mind up



"Waterloo” may not be the best ABBA song but it’s their best Eurovision track and the best Eurovision track. One of the best things about this film is the songs: “Jaja Ding Dong” is the answer to the request: write a typical Eurovision song. “Making Your Mind Up” may be “my” winner because it’s the one I remember, but “Land of Make Believe” is objectively a better song. The story of what happened to Bucks Fizz after they won is the kind of thing that’s the currency for retrospective musical documentaries. It’s not a happy story because with musical success comes money, expectation and the clash of ego. This film doesn’t get bogged down in that, but it does suggest that there’s always that risk of catastrophic failure, embarrassment, thwarted ambitions and failed dreams. And it does it without becoming dull and boring: it’s a partly joyful tribute to the performers, and for all that it’s fantastic fun.

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