L'iceberg

"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!

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 :)

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.

I think this is one of the first Belgium films I've ever seen so I didn't really know what to expect.

Keeping in mind that I saw this in France, in French, with no English subtitles I think I understood well enough the plot. (je parle assez bien francais) Not to give anything away, a 40 something woman who works in a fast food shop gets locked into the shops freezer. From then she experiences I guess what you could call a mid-life crisis.

It's funny, in an offbeat sort of way, there's not a lot of dialog... and i really must insist, if you do happen to find a copy of this film watch it in french with subtitles (i swear you lose so much from films when you watch it in the dubbed version) I'd give it 8 out of ten, because i came out of the cinema with a smile on my face thinking 'what the?' lol

the fairytale was well to the fore in this completely charming quest film, which has such striking individual scenes that i think the directors must have a background in theatre drama. There s a charming(and accurate in essence) demonstration of the co operative nature of french village life, of suburban relationships, of the desire that women have for a life which contains a little of magic and adventure.Fiona Gordon has the grace of a dancer, and the plight of her husband is both pathetic and noble, as well as funny. after watching the film i kept remembering little pieces that made me laugh, and beautiful evocations of.... icebergs?