Jar City

In my opinion it's a pretty good movie based on the fact it's from Iceland and we are unfortunately not know for our talent in the movie industry. Even thought I'm not too pleased with the casting of the main character, Erlendur, who does not look a thing like the character in the book the movie is based on, It's not too bad at all. The performance of Erlendur's daughter Eva Lind, played by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, I must say it's was quite a shock how well she did. But here back in Iceland she is know for here TV-show where she is a diva called Sivía Nótt whom a lot of us aren't to keen on but I think it's just an Icelandic humor that not everybody gets. I do recommend this movie. It's not for the fragile sort of people. And since it's a typical Icelandic movie there are a lot of harsh words and it's a bit rough. I apologize for my spelling and hope you enjoy this movie. Thanks =)

Inspector Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson) has to investigate a "messy and pointless" murder. A dirty old man has had his head bashed in in his flat. "Typical Icelandic", he thinks.

Iceland just touches the Arctic circle. It's a long way from anywhere else. It is grey and gritty, spectacular and melancholy, buffeted by blasts of wind, snow and steam. Against this background Erlendur doggedly untangles the connections and the crimes of the past, digging up corpses and secrets shameful or tragic. Landscape and society alike are revealed and commented on, drily and laconically.

Being based on a novel by Iceland's most successful crime writer, the characters are as well known to the home audience as Rebus, for instance, is in Britain, and carry enough of the baggage of real life to make them credible and sympathetic. There are visual themes of burials and exhumations, post-mortems, pathology labs and fast food, and a sound track of male voices shading into electronic moans and growls, which in turn dissolve into the wind. It's a very well-constructed package, which is thought provoking, gruesome, touching and funny, and it's certainly worth seeing.

This is a well made, enjoyable crime thriller that manages to sustain tension and interest throughout its run time and marries this with some well handled comic moments. The main character, Erlunder, is a multi-layered and believable, ageing, seen-it-all-before cop, while the scenes involving discovery of dead bodies are skin-crawlingly well acted and nauseously realistic.

However, given the kind of budgets and talent available to producers of TV crime series these days, Jar City suffers from the fact that the plot really could form an episode of CSI:Rejkjavik or, dare I say it Taggart (a old British crime series). There are no huge surprises or twists in the tail - it is, essentially, a standard, old fashioned who/why dunnit.

However, what sets Jar City apart from CSI and its ilk is the cinematography. Obviously I've seen images of Iceland before - but I've never seen it captured in such a bleak, but beautiful fashion. Iceland itself is centrally important to the character of this film (and might even be said to be one of the characters) and its strangely picturesque scenery and, in some cases, downright weirdness, make Jar City worth watching just for this alone.

An intelligent, engaging, multi-layered storyline that blends strained family relations, unsolved murders, and infuses some Icelandic customs keeping the viewer captivated from beginning to end. Despite the lack of shock value, the film maintains a consistent sense of suspense throughout. "Jar City" is chilly and cerebral, but also morbidly and powerfully alive.

In 1974, a young Icelandic girl dies at the hands of a murderer, and the crime was never solved. In present day, the aged and exhausted detective Erlendur begins to investigate a link between that notorious unsolved crime, and the unrelated homicide of a local criminal years after the fact. Erlendur has a difficult private life, his wife has passed away, and he has a pregnant daughter Eva Lind (Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir) who is a drug addict and roams the streets.

Meanwhile, Örn (Atli Rafn Sigurdarson), an employee at a DNA-mapping lab, struggles with the death of his own daughter, who suffered from a brain tumor. In time, the two men's lives will intersect in a myriad of ways that neither can even begin to foresee -- and the motivation for Holberg's original crime will become resoundingly clear.

Director Baltasar Kormákur elegantly churns out a first-rate mystery by dressing it with organic cinematography and a score reminiscent of eerie Gregorian chants. But his best move is a focus on an unlikely secondary character - Iceland itself. He wisely employs this unique, almost otherworldly qualities of its setting--presented as both beautiful and threatening. The cinematography is simply stunning, truly enhancing the ambiance to an ominous storyline and landscape.

"Jar City" turns out to be intricate, haunting puzzle of motivations. The murder, of an old man named Holberg, opens up a nest of older crimes and brooding secrets. Erlendur finds himself investigating a possible rape from 30 years before and unraveling a tangled history of police corruption and petty brutality. What it all has to do with Holberg is no more clear to the audience than it is to the detective. But Erlendur's combination of bluntness and analytical acumen informs Mr. Kormákur's storytelling technique, making "Jar City" an unusually forceful and thought-provoking thriller. "Jar City" (or Mýrin), is adapted from Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason's 2000 best-seller, "Tainted Blood."

If you like your crime thrillers with imagination,good directing & superb acting, then 'Myrin' is for you. This Scandanavian cold case cop thriller concerns a police officer who is on a 30 year-old murder case involving the death of a 5 year old girl,while also trying to solve a more recent murder most foul. The officer is also trying to balance all of this while dealing with his own drug addicted daughter who is always trying to cage money off of her dad. Along the way, we are treated to some of Iceland's slimy criminal underworld (including those on the police force). I really admired the photography,which balances some rather bleak,wintry scenes,balanced with the rugged beauty of the Icelandic countryside (the use of muted colour really works for the tone of this rather bleak,pessimistic film). The film also makes good use of some black humour. As this film has no U.S. distribution,it will be a bit of a chore finding a cinema that screens quality films like this. No MPAA rating, but would most likely land an 'R', for every possible reason (raunchy language,violence,some of it pretty bloody & gory,and some very adult situations). Leave the small fry's home for this one (it would probably freak them out,anyway)