Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
| Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David Dobkin |
| Written by | Will Ferrell Andrew Steele |
| Starring | Will Ferrell Rachel McAdams |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date | June 26 2020 |
| Budget | $35 million |
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a 2020 musical comedy film about the Eurovision Song Contest. The film was directed by David Dobkin and written by Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele.
It was released on Netflix on June 26 2020. It was supposed to be released on the same day as the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eurovision 2020 was cancelled.
Story[change | change source]
Lars Ericksson and Sigrit Ericksdóttir perform music together as a duo named "Fire Saga". Many people in their hometown believe that they are not good. Fire Saga enter Söngvakeppnin, Iceland's entry selection contest for Eurovision, with the song "Double Trouble". Their performance goes wrong and they do not win. An explosion kills the winner so Fire Saga are chosen as the Icelandic Eurovision entry for the film's version of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Lars and Sigrit arrive in Edinburgh, the host city for Eurovision. They meet Alexander Lemtov, the Russian entry. He invites them to his party, which is also attended by contestants and previous winners. Alexander and Sigrit spend the night together while Greek entry Mita Xenakis stays with Lars (but neither pair gets intimate). Sigrit believes that Lars is in love with Mita. Lars overhears Sigrit working on a new song and thinks it is a romantic song for Alexander. Alexander tries to convince Sigrit to join him instead. This makes him upset.
Fire Saga's semi-final performance goes horribly wrong and they are laughed at. Lars goes home to Iceland. Sigrit stays at Eurovision and discovers that the people have voted for Iceland to go into the final. Sigrit realises that Alexander is gay but cannot come out due to homophobia in Russia. Lars soon learns that Fire Saga is in the final. The Governor of the Bank of Iceland tries to stop Lars from returning to Edinburgh (because if Iceland wins, they must host the next contest and go bankrupt). Icelandic elves kill the Governor and Lars returns to Edinburgh.
Lars goes on stage while Sigrit is performing. They decide to not to perform their song and instead sing the song Sigrit made in the hotel room. The audience and people watching love the song but while Lars and Sigrit kiss on stage, it is announced by Graham Norton that Fire Saga is disqualified from the contest.
Main cast[change | change source]
Fictional characters[change | change source]
- Will Ferrell as Lars Ericksson
- Alfie Melia as a Young Lars
- Rachel McAdams as Sigrit Ericksdóttir
- Sophia Grace-Donnelly as Young Sigrit
- Molly Sandén as Sigrit's singing voice
- Dan Stevens as Alexander Lemtov
- Melissanthi Mahut as Mita Xenakis
- Mikael Persbrandt as Victor Karlosson
- Pierce Brosnan as Erick Erickssong
- Demi Lovato as Katiana Lindsdóttir
- Jamie Demetriou as Kevin Swain
- Hannes Óli Ágústsson as Olaf Yohansson, a resident of Húsavík
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Neils Brongus
- Elín Petersdóttir as Helka
- Salvador Sobral as an Edinburgh busker
Real people[change | change source]
- Graham Norton, the UK commentator for Eurovision
- John Lundvik, Swedish entry in 2019
- Anna Odobescu, Moldovan entry in 2019
- Bilal Hassani, French entry in 2019
- Loreen, Swedish winner of 2012 (later won 2023)
- Jessy Matador, French entry in 2010
- Alexander Rybak, Norwegian winner in 2009 and entry in 2018
- Jamala, Ukrainian winner in 2016
- Elina Nechayeva, Estonian entry in 2018
- Conchita Wurst, Austrian winner in 2014
- Netta Barzilai, Israeli winner in 2018
Reception[change | change source]
The film received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards. Critics liked the music but thought the film was too long. Many Eurovision fans enjoyed it.