Uma Mulher em Guerra

I really liked this quirky Icelandic eco-thriller about a woman that goes to great lengths to do what she thinks is right for her country. But to try and categorize this movie is a bit tricky, as this reminded me more of Roy Andersson movies than Soylent Green, with a lot of surrealistic moments like a band that provides the movie's soundtrack but is an integral part of the action and, for better or worse, is one of the most unforgettable aspects of this film. It is generally well shot and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir provides a great performance in the titular role.

"Woman At War" (2018 release from Iceland; 104 min.) brings the story of Halla. As the movie opens, Halla in sabotaging the power lines nearby a Rio Tinte plant somewhere in Iceland, causing an overall power outage. The police are out looking for the perpetrator, and she manages to evade the police chopper, but just barely. Meanwhile back in her regular life, she is a community choir director. Then one day, she receives a letter that her adoption request from 4 years ago, finally has been approved: a little girl from Ukraine awaits her! But how can she reconcile this with her environmental activism? At this point we are less that 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from writer-producer-director Benedikt Erlingsson. Here he brings us a playful yet intense comedy-drama involving an environmental activist who, in her mind, MUST make a stand against heavy industry that is committing crimes against humanity (in her mind). But what is it really? Environmental sabotage? or extremism? The movie benefits enormously from the charismatic lead performance of Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, in a dual role as both Halla and her (twin?) sister Asa. Also playing major character is the Icelandic outdoors, where much of the movie takes place. Definitely on my bucket list to visit one day! And then there is the music: the score plays out live on the screen, as in: the Icelandic band and the Ukraine choir are integral part of the movie. Very clever. The movie takes some unexpected turns in the last half hour, increasing the level of enjoyment even more. Just a few months ago, it was announced that Hollywood is going to remake this (starring Jodie Foster). Of course!

"Woman At War" premiered to great acclaim at last year's Cannes film festival, and finally made it to my art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend. I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this turned out to be a private screening, as I was literally the only person in the theater. A darn shame, if you ask me. This is a top-notch foreign comedy-drama that met and exceeded my already high expectations. I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

This movie could have been very preachy. It deals with a middle-aged woman who is very concerned about the effects of industry on the Icelandic environment and decides to take a very active role in opposing it, sabotaging efforts to create a new aluminum processing plant. All very PC.

But it is the form that makes this movie truly exceptional, not to mention fun and fascinating to watch. It is full of imaginative touches that seem to come out of nowhere and that capture your attention and admiration.

The acting is fine, and some of the countryside shots are wonderful, but it's not a scenic tour of Iceland. Rather, it's a remarkably create take on what could have been a very dull topic.

Halla (played by Halldora Geirhardsdottir), a middle-aged Icelandic woman leading a seemingly ordinary life, is secretly a fierce eco-warrior. Staying completely off the radar, she conducts lone daring missions of sabotage against a big industrial plant that is endangering the environment of her region and her entire country. Her weapons of choice are small-scale explosives, and bow and arrows. The bare bones of this plot sound like just the sort of thing for a Hollywood action film, but Woman at War is stylistically so different, so NOT Hollywood that it inhabits practically a different universe. And it's all the better for that. We care about what's going on on the screen, and about the protagonist Halla, far more here than we ever would for things like Mission Impossible or Fast and Furious or the Bond films or a dozen other franchises like them which are basically just eye candy.

There actually aren't that many true 'action' scenes: most of the screen time is devoted to interactions among the relatively small cast of characters, and some slow-burn suspense. Will Halla keep successfully evading the authorities who are ramping up their search for the saboteur? After all, Iceland is a pretty small country. Her motivation for what she's doing also would not cut very deep unless we had a well rounded picture of her life and the deep connection of her fellow Icelanders with their own land. Her sister Asa (played by the same actress -- and the scenes where Asa and Halla are both on screen are seamlessly done) comes in and out of the story, as does cousin Sveinbjorn (Johann Sigurdarson), a farmer who helps Halla at critical moments. Halla is thrown a major curve when her hoped-for chance to adopt a little orphan girl from Eastern Europe come up suddenly: does she change the course of her life to take it, or let it go and continue her profoundly risky guerilla war? There are also genuinely surprising twists -- essentially bits of luck and timing -- that make us realize that every bit of the backstory and setup in the first half of the movie was put there for a reason.

There are loads of engaging details from beginning to end. In one scene Halla is being hunted by a police drone seeking for her in the countryside near the industrial plant. She shoots it down with her bow and arrow and then stomps it to pieces. (Who wouldn't like to do that with those annoying things, just once?) The oddest touch of all, though, has to do with the music. The edgy background music is played by a small band of musicians who are sometimes actually on screen, standing just to the side of the action -- on roadsides, on city streets, by airport parking lots. Their onscreen presence usually takes place at critical junction points in the story. This eccentric touch takes a further step into the truly surreal when at times Halla actually notices them (!) as if she has stepped outside her own role.

All in all, it's very much worth seeing. A whole lot of Hollywood studio suits who are only after your money could learn from far more genuine films like this one.

Woman at War is a film about a woman who has taken on the role of eco-terrorist to try and fight increased industrialization in Iceland. The question is, can she fight for what she thinks is right, keep her identity hidden from the authorities, and live a normal life in the meantime? This movie was exhilarating in all the right ways. I was totally invested in her adventures, and always wondered if she would take things too far. When regular life comes into play, I was even more interested to see what she might do, since balancing life as an outlaw with domestic life could be impossible. I was totally intrigued by this character. She is likable, and feels like one of the most friendly women you could possibly meet, and yet she is also fiercely passionate about a cause and does what she can for the betterment of her country (without hurting anyone in the process.)

One of the more quirky elements of Woman at War is something I'd rather not spoil for those who haven't seen the film. However, it's a fun way of breaking the fourth wall that I never saw coming. It made me laugh every time they went there, and added a unique element that sets this film apart from others I've seen. Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is absolutely awesome in the lead role. She has to carry a great deal of this film on her own, and she manages to do it all and make it look easy. The tone of the film ranges from serious to silly, and that could throw some people off. Personally, I thought it worked remarkably well, and I enjoyed both the chuckles and the stress of our hero possibly being caught. It's a movie that entertains you and makes a point all at the same time. I would highly recommend Woman at War to anyone looking for something off the beaten path. It's a delightfully different kind of film.