Todesschlaf

Insomnia is a criminal thriller shot in the classic Scandinavian style, a combination we're only seeing rather recently. When a teenaged girl turns up dead in a landfill, a homicide team is sent up from Oslo to back up the local police, who are ill-equipped to handle such a murder owing to its infrequency. Above the Arctic Circle, the lead detective is like a fish out of water - the 24-hour daylight drives him crazy and he is desperate to get out.

The scenes have a cold, bare feel to them, like the shooting locations (Tromsø and environs) and the protagonist/antagonist, Jonas Engstrøm (Stellan Skarsgård). Stark is a good word - but it is effective, and also beautiful. Bjørn Floberg also turns in a solid performance as the prime suspect. I found Skarsgård's female foil (Gisken Armand) a bit cloying but that's not enough to bring the whole film down.

Skarsgård's intensity is impressive and captivating, and the dynamic between his character and the others (he is Swedish, they are Norwegian) helps keep you interested. It's interesting to see how being a murder cop hardens a person - whether that person is Norwegian, Swedish, or American doesn't matter.

I would definitely recommend this film. It's a powerful and beautiful work that deserves to be seen.

I used to love going to the video store because there were always so many films I wanted to see, but as my tastes became more refined, my trips to the video store have become more difficult. It's not easy to find movies who's foundation are based on cinematography and atmosphere, but this movie is just that. This movie is slow and drawn out, and if you need lots of dialogue to keep you interested in a film, this one won't work for you. But if you like eerie scenes with quiet reserved characters and a sound track that is as slow and quiet as the pacing is, then this movie is will be perfect for you. The acting leaves nothing to be desired, the story is well written, the sound track is perfectly mood enhancing, the sets are breath taking, and the cinematography is immaculate. Slow, moody, harsh, and absolutely beautiful. One of the best films I've seen in a long time.

Brilliant, moody, a bit creepy. A noirish thriller. Stellan Skarsgard gives a wonderfully subtle performance in the lead role of a Swedish police detective suffering from sleep deprivation while on assignment in Norway. Stylistically the director and cinematographer effectively recreate the alienated and somewhat hallucinatory feeling of being sleep deprived and in a foreign country. There's more to the story of course, but to reveal those details would spoil the surprises. Be warned, if you like your movie heroes uncomplicated then stay away from "Insomnia".

I found this film to be exceptionally entertaining. The other reviewer may have found the cinematography/appearance of this film cheap but I found it to be very hipotic. Perhaps people native to the country of the films setting have seen better depictions of their environment, but I think american audiences will enjoy the images. Stellan Skarsgard makes this film worth seeing on his own.

I was REALLY impressed by 'Insomnia', the directorial debut from Norwegian Erik Skjoldbjaerg. If this movie is any indication of his talents he is one writer/director to watch! I have yet to see Christopher Nolan's Hollywood remake of this movie but I would be extremely surprised if it manages to equal it, let alone top it. (And I absolutely loved 'Memento') At first you think you're going to see something you've seen a hundred times, a mismatched "buddy" cop movie or your standard serial killer mystery, but the movie quickly enters unfamiliar territory and manages to subvert expectations. Apart from Stellan Skarsgard ('Breaking The Waves', 'Ronin') the cast was unknown to me, but they are all first rate, and I couldn't say there was a bad piece of acting throughout. But Skarsgard, a woefully underrated actor, steals the whole show with an utterly brilliant and compelling performance that shows a depth rarely seen by Hollywood actors, especially in thrillers. 'Insomnia' is a fantastic movie that I cannot fault. The less you know about it the better. Whatever you do, SEE this movie! Highly recommended, especially for those sick and tired at how most thrillers made these days are so predictable and formulaic. It doesn't have to be so, and 'Insomnia' proves it!