The Final Member
Synopsis: Paris has the Louvre. London has the Tate Modern, and New York the Metropolitan Museum. But Husavik, Iceland—a diminutive village on the fringe of the Arctic Circle—boasts the world’s only museum devoted exclusively to painstakingly preserved male genitalia. Founded and curated by Sigurður “Siggi” Hjartarson, the Icelandic Phallological Museum houses four decades worth of mammalian members, from a petite field mouse to the colossal sperm whale, and every “thing” in between. But, lamentably, Siggi’s collection lacks the holy grail of phallic phantasmagoria: a human specimen. Siggi’s world changes dramatically when he receives generous offers from an elderly Icelandic Casanova and an eccentric American. However, as the competition for eternal penile preservation heats up between the two men, Siggi soon discovers that this process is more complicated than it initially appeared. In their debut feature film, Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math follow Siggi on his dogged, often emotional quest to complete his exhibition in a peculiar, yet startlingly relatable, story of self-fulfillment and the value of personal legacies (both big and small).
Genre
Rated
Language
Run Time
Starring
Directed by
Zach Math
Produced by
Zach Math
Edited by
Tyler Hubby
Composer
Cinematographer
Sean Stiegemeier
Awards
Calgary Underground Film Festival - Canada - 2013
Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature (Jonah Bekhor, Zach Math)
Nominations
Village Voice Film Poll - USA - 2012
VVFP Award Best Undistributed Film
Indiewire Critics' Poll - USA - 2012
ICP Award, Best Undistributed Film
Chicago International Film Festival - USA - 2012
Gold Hugo, Best Documentary
Quotes
"The Final Member" documents the search for that last specimen with a twinkle in its eye and warmth in its tone. - Jeannette Catsoulis , New York Times
Could easily be nothing but snickers and mockery, but the directors offer a work filled with warmth, humor and humanism. - Jordan Hoffman , New York Daily News
The Final Member boasts a stranger-than-fiction subject so odd and funny it almost couldn't miss. But Bekhor and Math make the film much more than a limp gag. - Ben Kenigsberg , AV Club
This film demonstrates the supreme emotional effectiveness of a simple quest narrative. - Heather Baysa , Village Voice
Hjartarson is a filmmaker's dream: a low-key character with a wonderfully dry sense of humour. But he is also a social scientist, a man passionate about completing his museum collection. - Linda Barnard , Toronto Star
Press
Rotten Tomatoes - The Final Member refuses to coast on its provocative subject matter, delivering an engrossing documentary of economic length and impressive depth. - Critics consensus - [Rotten Tomatoes]
