Cold fever

Cold Fever is one of those rare films where the hero is on a serious and deeply spiritual quest, yet the drama and the philosophy never overshadows the humor. Within the first 15 minutes of the film's depiction of Hirata's trip through Iceland, he is seen standing in the back of a (very large) truck, riding into Reykjavik with numerous other men - all of which are singing (beautifully) in deep baritone voices, the entire way home. One of the men on the truck turns to Hirata and says:

"How do you like Iceland?"

"Very strange country." Hirata replies, and the actor's expression and tone of voice made it a perfect bit of foreshadowing for everything that lies ahead.

This is a story about a man's journey across Iceland to fulfill a family obligation. His parents drowned in a mountain river, and Hirata must go there to free their spirits from the place. However, while the weight of family obligation is what gets him started, and is the goal that keeps him going - the journey, with it's many colorful characters and strange adventures (many of which seem to be born of either luck or a very powerful spiritual guardian seeing this man to his final destination) are what affect and change the man who is on this journey. Yet, despite it's fantastical quality, the film never seems to loose it's suspension of disbelief. In other words, I found myself in awe of the adventure without becoming annoyed by the impossibility of it.

My only complaint would be the number of times Hirata decides to just walk away from a cab or a broken down car. 90% of the movie is filmed in Iceland, in the middle of winter, and the reality of walking around in a business suit (with a suitcase, briefcase, and poor walking shoes) wasn't (in my opinion) properly displayed. Anyone who has experienced sheer white snow-blind cold depicted in this movie would be tapping their fingers, wondering why this man isn't dead from exposure.

However, I must stress that my single complain is actually a minor one, because it actually enhances the mystical and magical quality of this film. Like I said, Hirata's comment ("Very strange country") is a wonderful bit of foreshadowing.

Highly recommended.

Something about this film has kept me thinking about it since I saw it in 2001. I had the fortunate opportunity to see it because, at that time, Des Moines (Iowa) had one of the best indie-movie rental places (Oddities), ever. Oddities just stocked walls of foreign films and rows of independent films.

Cold fever had the intriguing elements of a young Japenese businessman reluctantly, and by family obligation, traveling around Iceland. That was enough for us to want to check it out.

The story is tremendous. I love the style and the performances give by the actors. Friðrik Þór Friðriksson really captures the feeling of the main character on film. It is almost haunting how Hirata operates... how he meanders through the vastness of the landscape.

Great film, great ending. I wish they would get it on DVD along with other works by the director

This film is indeed a beautiful film showing Iceland's many attractions as the previous reviewer mentioned, but it also draws very interesting parallels between the native beliefs of Icelanders, which in fact are quite similar to what prevailed across Europe before Christianity came(Iceland was settled by Vikings and was among the last places Europeans held to their pagan religion), and the Shinto practices in Japan. One accompanies the main character, a shallow, immature corporate executive from his comfortable Tokyo life to Iceland: where layer by layer he is stripped of comfort, certainty, even rationality, until he is brought to a place where he realizes a simple and profound humanity.

This film is funny, the cinematography is amazing, and it is spiritually enriching. How many films can you say all that about?

This film is evidently a long commercial to lure tourists to Iceland. It contains all the famous national specialities of the country, and of course the beautiful landscape is presented in a particularly beautiful manner. Just like Ein Schloss am Wörthersee is advertising Carinthia – only much more charming!

I find the idea to use as a `hero' a Japanese who comes to Iceland unwillingly quite original (a friend of mine said she had never seen such an ornery Japanese before). The weird characters he meets on his way to the probably remotest and most unpleasant place in the world help to construct some kind of plot, and the movie is a pleasure to watch – throughout.

I am going to visit Iceland next week, and after watching Cold Fever I am particularly looking forward to it. And that's the result Jim Stark and Friðrik Friðriksson were out for, isn't it?

I saw Cold Fever when it was first released in the U.S. and have been (unsuccessfully so far) looking for it for about 5 years to see it again.

Some of the other comments have pointed to the way the Japanese and Icelandic elements--of folklore and spirituality, principally--weave together. I have always thought it was a beautiful homage to Kurosawa and perhaps other Japanese filmmakers, not just in the plot (which others have correctly seen as a "road movie") but in the whole pacing and look of the film--the colors, the composition of scenes, the attention to the characters. It's really too bad more people haven't seen it.

Hirata's enlightenment through his contacts with other characters who may be real, delusional (he is, in fact, fevered), or actual ghosts or spirits is compelling and thought-provoking for the viewer, who must also question what is "real," as well as what it means.