L'iceberg

I love European films because of keeping their nativity and don't looking forward to earn money. Most of them are still an "art", not like Hollywood-made ones.

And this one is the best comedy i've ever seen. There are everything! From tears, to freedom, from sadness, to boyishness. I couldn't stop laughing almost all the movie time (exept those, few sad episodes), and i couldn't stop laughing an hour after the movie! Excellent actors, excellent acting, excellent episodes, everything was excellent! I'm so exited, that i'll have to wait a bit of time, till i bring myself to watch another comedy. And i loved those few and short dialogs, because actors were so expressive that words were dispensable, to understand, what they want to say.

I hope you'll enjoy this movie, just like i did.

I watched l'Iceberg last night, and I have to say, right from the beginning, a smile never left my face. It may not be the style of humor that everyone likes nowadays.

The film has a very light atmosphere, but it is not necessary to look to deeply. Very inspired by Tati, the film requires only simple observation without trying to look very deep.

I was lucky enough to be in the presence of the two lead actors at the theater here in Strasbourg. Afterwards, Fiona Gordon made it perfectly clear that this film is meant to be simple and pleasant, yet the laughs continued non-stop. Do not expect a typical American-styled humor in this film.

For any fans of a lighter style of humor, this movie should do wonders. I can't praise this movie enough :)

"L'Iceberg" (2005 release from Belgium; 84 min.) brings the story of a dysfunctional family. As the movie opens, an Inuktitut woman addresses us about her life (only much later do we understand why), and after that brief prologue of sorts, we get to know Fiona, a woman in her thirties. While she is closing up the fast food joint she manages, she accidentally locks herself in the walk-in freezer and spends the night. Meanwhile we see that her husband Julien, utterly aloof, doesn't even notice Fiona isn't there. When Fiona returns home the next day, she realizes that Julien and the kids didn't know she missed the night. What will Fiona do next? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is one remarkable movie from Belgium (where I grew up). First of all, there is hardly any dialogue in the movie. A sentence here, a word there, and that's about it. It's all about the visuals and the physical comedy. About 15 minutes into the movie, I thought to myself, "this is so Jacques Tati!". Take for example the classic bedroom scene, where Julien accidentally kicks Fiona off the bed, and then goes into a battle with the bed sheets. Wonderful scene. Also do not think that just because there is so few spoken scenes that there isn't a story line. Au contraire, the story line moves forward with significant strides throughout the movie. Interestingly, the movie is co-written and co-directed by the actors playing Fiona and Julien. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found the movie to be highly original, quirky and engaging from start to finish.

I recently saw "L'Iceberg" at my local art house theater here in Cincinnati, which it was shown as part of a French Comedy Movies series brought in partnership with the local Alliance Francaise (even though this movie is not French, but who's keeping track). The one-off showing was quite well attended. I had no idea what to expect going in, but walked out of the theater with a smile on my face. If you are in the mood for a comedy that is off-center and then some, you can't go wrong with this. "L'Iceberg" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A comedy that uses pantomime throughout to tell a story about a woman traumatized after being caught overnight in a freezer. Pantomine can be a fertile ground for slapstick. The movie has a few humorous moments but they are simply not enough to make it worth one's time. Moreover, some of the slapstick is poorly timed, as in the scene with the boat anchor; one can see it coming well before the gag occurs and then the directors unnecessarily milk the situation several more seconds after the laughs have died down.

The most genial thing the directors did was opening with the monologue of Lucy Tulugarjuk. Her endearing and contagious smile is an image that will stay with me for a long time. If only the comedy at the core of the film could have been as satisfying as Lucy's charming grin.

The Belgian comedy, "L'Iceberg," is such a head-scratching little oddity that it is virtually impossible to describe it for anyone who hasn't already seen it. It's a highly stylized tale of a young restaurant manager who decides to break away from her stultifying and humdrum existence after she inadvertently locks herself in a freezer overnight - only to discover, once she gets out, that her husband and their two carbon-copy young children have failed to notice her absence. Realizing her utter insignificance to those around her, Fiona strikes out on her own, abandoning her job and staying away from home for long stretches of time - eventually setting out to sea with a mysterious deaf/mute sailor she meets along the way.

Utilizing concepts straight out of the Theater of the Absurd, "L'Iceberg" pokes fun at the sterility of modern life, as Fiona finally breaks free of the bonds of domesticity and goes on a quest for love and adventure. Directors Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (who play the husband and wife in the film) have composed their film almost entirely of straight-on block shots, perfect for emphasizing the surreal spareness of the drama and setting. The lanky, bug-eyed Gordon, who looks for all the world like a cross between Frances McDormand and a stringy-haired Olive Oyl, plays Fiona with a mouth-breathing, deadpanned seriousness that enhances our empathy for the character and heightens the satirical nature of the piece.

Original in concept and bold in execution, "L'Iceberg" is irrepressibly imaginative and visually inventive in its cockeyed portrayal of the world around us.