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.

Masatoshi Nagase (best known for his role in Jarmusch's Mystery Train, and also the Japanese films Suicide Club, The Hidden Blade and Electric Dragon 80.000V) stars as a Japanese man whose grandfather (cult director Seijun Suzuki, who appears for a couple of minutes) insists he spend his vacation performing traditional burial rites of his parents, who died while living in Iceland. Nagase flies to Reykjavik and proceeds to drive across the country in the middle of the winter to the remote spot where they passed. Though they don't go into any details on his parents' death, Iceland seems like a very likely place to die, since it's full of dangerous, unpopulated terrain. This is basically a road movie, where Nagase meets various odd people along his way. It's maybe a bit weirder than most - I'd say it's kind of one of those weird-for-the-sake-of-weird type movies. But Fridriksson does a great job of making his home country look like a world of wonder. "Iceland is very strange country" Nagase always says when someone asks him what he thinks of it, in English of course, since it's the common language between him and most Icelanders (I'd say about 80% of the dialogue is in English). The film doesn't really go anywhere plot-wise, and some of the episodes are more successful than others. The most notable flop is the long sequence where Nagase picks up a couple of stranded American tourists, Fisher Stevens and Lili Taylor. Those two are painfully annoying, especially when they talk to each other via their sock puppets. That's really some needless quirk. Overall, though, I was intrigued.

This is really a wonderful film! I might be a little influenced by the fact that I've been to Iceland twice and I loved it (and still do, and pretty surely there's going to be a third time), but I really did feel this movie. The storyline is quite simple and has been well described by other reviewers, so straight to what this movie contains.

Well, anybody who's been to Iceland will realize immediately the high grade of realism, both in the landscapes and in the people the main man meets on his way, their attitudes, mentality, way of talking and all the rest. Icelanders really ARE the way you see them in this movie! Also the atmosphere of the country in the winter is perfect, deeply charming in its desolation. But whats gets the most in this film is the humanity of the various characters.

The main man is a likable guy, a little stiff in his behaving with the rest of the world, but that might be part of the Japanese culture as far as I know. Completely unlikable the two Americans, who are indeed negative characters, while I loved the old man who befriends the protagonist in the last part of the movie. The deepest humanity is to be found in him.

This is a movie that will get stuck into your mind for a very long time, don't miss 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.

Ten years later this very compact film still works its magic. Much has been said by many of the other contributors with one exception. It is not a film to be rushed. Rather you need to view at the speed the film dictates - not unlike "Paris, Texas. Like the swirling mists and snow it slowly envelops you. No frame is wasted. Even a casual remark in the aeroplane en-route to Iceland gives a link for the future.

Many different cultures have their cultural layers peeled back; American, Japanese, Icelandic and Norse mythology. It's up to the viewer to see what he or she sees.

I think the most telling scene in the film is the Icelander who befriends Hirata. Although he does not want to accompany Hirata to the ritual grave scene because of a 'spirit dream', he nonetheless is there to show him the way home. In so doing, he witnesses a universal value with Hirate - the passing of life.

There's much to be said for good small budget films. The story and direction have to be tightly constrained.