A white, white day - Segreti nella nebbia

... that almost self extinguishes but is saved by the rage of a widower upon discovering the infidelity of his dead spouse. The lines between sanity, grief, madness and anger achingly filmed and pondering through the mistiness of recollection.

Amazing Icelandic drama, with a great score and ambience, not recommended for those annoyed with slow-paced movies

The opening frames of Hlynur Palmason's movie "A White, White Day" conveys weather and landscape in a way very few movies have. It's clear seasons and time are passing in a dizzying, almost disorientating, fashion so when people finally appear, (an elderly man and his granddaughter), they feel as if they shouldn't be here and when we move indoors, it's like a alien place, particularly as there is a horse in the living room. And then it's back to more of the same, images of a landscape, but now with people occasionally appearing at a distance..

In part an intimate psychological study of its central character, Ingimundur, (a superb, award-winning performance from Ingvar Sigurdsson), and in part a study of the harsh environment in which he lives, Palmason's film is a visually stunning and often relentless 'thriller', dealing with the themes of grief, jealousy and revenge. It's also the kind of film that clearly belongs in the Northern Hemisphere where nature at its least forgiving determines both the landscape and the character of its inhabitants. You could say Ingimundur is the way he is becasue of his environment.

The plot evolves slowly yet inexorably with dialogue kept to a minimum. As a thriller it reminded me of the television series "True Detective" which certainly took its time and wasn't really concerned with resolving issues; the pace here is decidedly languorous and the film is open-ended. A huge hit on the festival circuit and the Icelandic entry for the Oscars, it should also prove very popular with art-house audiences.

Old Cop slowly goes crazy after learning about his deceased wife's past. Southern style drama of revenge and jealousy set in the high North. Great performances, great art direction, interesting visualizations. Recommended.

Bottomless grief, that is the main ingredient in this Icelandic film. How a man mourns the loss of his beloved wife. Masterfully played in a beautiful landscape, we follow the main character who tries to take back everyday life after his great loss. He drowns himself at work, and takes care of a grandchild. All in an attempt to deal with the grief. He reluctantly goes into therapy. We suspect something is going on with the main man, and that he really is hurting. He struggles. The film portrays this very well. It's slow and lingering, but this suits the film well. Eventually, his grief turns to hatred. This change in the plot leads to the film gaining more tempo, and gradually becoming exciting as well. Absolutely worth seeing, but it takes time to get into.