The spiritual practice of kindness encompasses a range of small acts and habits that we know as old-fashioned good manners: saying "please" and "thank you," waiting your turn, lending a helping hand, and respecting our elders. It is the social lubricant that really makes relationships humane. When it is missing in the family circle or neighborhood or community, there is a black hole.

The setting for this film is Iceland shortly after the end of World War II. A few remaining Americans are still at the U.S. base, Camp Thule. One of them marries Gogo (Saga Jonsdottir) and takes her to the United States. Her extended family, as well as other poor Icelanders, move into the former army barracks. Gogo's father Tommi (Gisli Halldorsson) has worked at the docks for years and is unhappily married to Karolina (Sigurveig Jonsdottir), a harsh woman with psychic powers.

Gogo's son Baddi (Baltasar Kormakur) goes to visit his mother in the U.S. and returns with an American car, an American TV, flashy clothes, and a sense that everyone is meant to serve him. Since he is a violent loudmouth who frequently gets drunk, his grandparents capitulate. He treats them shamefully. The only one who doesn't pay him obeisance is Danni (Sveinn Geirsson), his younger brother. But his heart is broken when the girl next door (Palina Jonsdottir) he's in love with marries Baddi instead. With help from his grandfather, Danni takes flying lessons and becomes a pilot.

Fridrik Thor Fridriksson (Cold Storage) has fashioned a wry black comedy that pokes fun at the destructive impact of Americanization upon one Icelandic family. Baddi is an odious son who looks down on everyone else; strutting around in his black leather jacket, he wants to be the King, as in Elvis. His lack of kindness is contrasted with his grandfather's abundance of it. He backs the right grandson and later, sensing that he can have a positive influence on the next generation, he endears himself to a little boy who has a beautiful voice for singing opera. This is an unusual meditation on kindness in our global society.