Die kalte See

It's great to go into a film knowing nothing about it before hand. This was the case when I saw "The Sea." While you can easily see it was adapted from a play the themes are consistent and handled cinematically for the most part.

The first thing that is apparent is that the casting in this film is ridiculously perfect. No actor feels out of place. Speaking of which neither are any of the scenes. It is rare to watch such a multi-character film and never be left confused about who's who. All the characters are sharply defined and they all illustrate the struggle amongst family, between the generations and the joining or avoidance of a globalized world.

The scenes in the pool and the scenes with the black sheep are accessible symbolism that serve comedic or story functions such that the audience is never lost. Another amazing thing is that even though all the characters have undesirable traits they're all funny and identifiable. The only place the film falters in anyway is that the father has a speech that's a little too long at the end. With the way the film cuts the framing of the story is very surprising.

The acting all around is great but those who stand out are Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Hélène de Fougerolles, Guðrún Gísladóttir and Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir.

Whenever watching a foreign film, especially one from a culture I'm not that familiar with, I always look for two things: 1. does it seem indigenous and not overly influenced by Hollywood? 2. While being indigenous does it communicate a universal message and/or theme. "The Sea" succeeds in both cases.

Though the setting is Icelandic, the themes of this familial drama are universal. An aging fishing mogul invites his estranged children home and all hell breaks loose as dark family secrets are revealed and the future of the family and community at large is decided. While there is something to despise in every character (except for perhaps the French girlfriend of the youngest son trapped in the fray) the viewer is left feeling sympathy for almost everyone when all the family feels in the end is apathy for each other. The director seems to be saying that may be the greatest tragedy of all. Dark humor and small glimmers of hope (some family members escape to new lives abroad and the community seems to survive the meltdown and trudges forward) keep the film from becoming too depressing. A beautiful music score and some nice cinematography highlight the often bleak Icelandic landscape. Great direction and powerhouse performances from the international cast help the film soar to operatic heights. A must see for any fan of familial dramas.

Also recommended: "Angels and Insects" and "American Beauty."

Douglas Sirk spends a family weekend in an Icelandic outport. Tyrannical father, dissipated children, conspiracy, destruction, alcohol, incest, and as a contemporary touch some spray painting. No Rock Hudson, though.

Reasonably well acted and written, and it had what I went to it for, namely Iceland, but otherwise it was the same old dysfunctional family melodrama I've seen 500 times before. It was occasionally interesting to note parallels to the old sagas - Icelandic writers seem to be constitutionally incapable of not referring to them, but I guess if you have a living 1000 year old literary tradition, you might as well use it.

If it was set in New York, I wouldn't have wasted my time on it though. If you've seen a lot of movies, you'll probably be thinking things like "not the freaking dinner-table meltdown scene again" as you watch it go through all the standard dysfunctional-family plot devices.

There is not one performance in this film that isn't well done and captivating. The unusual rustic settings and photography are constantly engrossing. The direction is excellent and the editing keeps the film moving at a good pace.

So what's wrong? I've seen it before. The dysfunctional Scandinavian family film is a genre unto itself. You get kung fu films from China, you get Bollywood musicals from India and you get dysfunctional family films from Scandinavia.The problems in this film are unique but the whole story arc that leads to a climatic blow-up is typical of the genre.

That all said, I enjoyed the film and recommend it with the warning that you might have seen it all before.