Puts Icelandic cinema on the map (Jar City (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Jar City (DVD)
Date:	21/07/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great direction and acting

Disadvantages: None

Icelandic cinema is an unfamiliar expedition for most filmgoers - they don't make a lot of films per year, and even less make it to our Western shores. Jar City, however, is one of these, and it's a solid thriller that's got some beautiful cinematography to boot. Above all else, it might make you want to visit Iceland.

Jar City is a fairly complex film that deals with the moral quandary of what to do when a genetic disease abounds in a family. This is seemingly connected to a recent murder and a rape that occured three decades previously. Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson plays Elurndur, a cop charged with investigating these strange happenings. He delivers a fierce performance that will hopefully get him the recognition he deserves in Western circles. However, what truly makes the film worth a watch is the stunning cinematography and Baltasar Kormakur's impressive direction. Although this is already his fifth film, I sincerely hope that by the strength of this film, he becomes more accessible to more mainstream, Western audiences. His eye for the visual is extremely impressive and potent, and helps cement a tense and brooding atmosphere of alienation, reinforced largely by the sprawling Iceland tundras.

Visually rich, enigmatic and atmospheric, Jar City blends the vast expanses of the Icelandic landscape with an intriguing murder mystery to well and truly put Icelandic cinema on the map. Gritty, complex and well-performed.

Summary: A thinking man's thriller