319. A White, White Day (Hvítur, hvítur dagur); movie review
Cert 15
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex references
What a crunching disappointment.
I was salivating over the prospect of an Icelandic thriller because of the high consistency of movies from the tiny Arctic nation.
My anticipation grew further when I became aware that Ingvar Sigurdsson was playing the lead because I remember his performance in Jar City with such fondness.
But, despite a promising premise, A White, White Day left both Mrs W and me flat because too much time is spent on arty deflections.
Hlynur Pálmason's movie is set in a remote Icelandic town where an off-duty police chief (Sigurdsson) is in mourning for his late wife.
And then, with scant evidence, he becomes obsessed with the notion that she was having an affair.
His life becomes so dominated by finding proof that his relationships with family, friends and work colleagues because stretched to the point of destruction.
The madness which envelops Sigurdsson's character is intriguingly offset against the love he has for his eight-year-old granddaughter (the excellent Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir) who views life through a much simpler lens.
But even she would be forgiven for being negatively affected by his violent bedtime stories.
Unfortunately, however, the movie's impact is diluted because of its execution.
The cameras linger too long for artistic effect - for example, a time-lapse of the exterior of his new house through the seasons for no clear reason and a whole minute of a rock rolling down a hill and dropping to the bottom of the sea.
A White, White Day ultimately let us down, possibly because its makers were trying too damned hard or probably because my anticipation was too high.
Reasons to watch: Another bleak Icelandic thriller
Reasons to avoid: Quite difficult to follow
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 4.5/10
Did you know? In 2015, there were just 653 police officers in Iceland - 558 men and 95 women.
The final word. Hlynur Palmason: "White, White Day was about two kinds of love. Love that you have for your children or grandchildren, which is simple, pure and unconditional and then another kind of love – a love you have for your partner, your lover, wife etc. That is something completely different, it’s more complex, intimate, animalistic and something quite unique that you don’t have with anyone else. "
Reasons to avoid: Quite difficult to follow
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 4.5/10
Did you know? In 2015, there were just 653 police officers in Iceland - 558 men and 95 women.
The final word. Hlynur Palmason: "White, White Day was about two kinds of love. Love that you have for your children or grandchildren, which is simple, pure and unconditional and then another kind of love – a love you have for your partner, your lover, wife etc. That is something completely different, it’s more complex, intimate, animalistic and something quite unique that you don’t have with anyone else. "
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