The winner of last year’s Titanic Breaking Waves Award has recently had its general release in Hungarian cinemas. Jar City, directed by
Baltasar Kormákur, is a Nordic thriller with a sour sense of humour. We would like to humbly note here that so far all our prize winners have received general releases - North is coming soon, as well
A special mention should be given to those films that not only convey engaging and entertaining stories, but also reflect on the unique characters of the country where they were made. Jar City was rewarded with the Breaking Waves Award last year for achieving this.
Baltasar Kormakur is a real star of Iceland’s small, but surprisingly virulent film industry. He has even been approached by Hollywood, as a result of his national and international successes. His sour sense of humour, excellent observational skills, and good eye for proportion make him a remarkable director. In this case, for example, he transforms a common crime story – based on the bestseller of Arnaldur Indridason – into something more than the sum of its parts. The main character, Erlendur stands out with his remarkable beard and a jumper with a Norwegian pattern. He sets out to solve two murders at once. Many decades have passed in between the killings; but only those, who have never seen a crime story before, will not pick up on their interconnectedness. The clues lead to a (real-life) research laboratory, where scientists are trying to lay out the genetic makeup of Iceland’s half-million population. The rest is up to you to figure out. The director operates with magnificent and exciting dramaturgical switches in pace, well-written dialogues, and highly entertaining interludes. What could remain a mediocre television crime story becomes more mesmerising than Hollywood’s entire production during the summer-season. On another note, we would like to warn you that the protagonist sometimes resorts to eating cooked sheep’s head, but then again, that is a natural thing in that region.
Vízer
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