Jar City

Stefan Drees

Although I knew Arnaldur Indriðason's book I was totally absorbed in this atmospheric adaptation. I especially enjoyed the construction of the filmic narration and the use of dark, severe colours.

jannicke

has some extremely charming moments, but also oh - some terribly bad ones. it is like kormakur is overicelandifying things a bit. liked the story though.

Wee Hunk

Can someone tell me where the Iceland in the brochure is? There's no beautiful happy healthy Nordic people here. Just unhappy sickly desperate people. I can find plenty of that here. And what the heck is up with that mutton head?

Christopher R. Smith

Moody crime thriller from Iceland is a stylish and satisfying detective story. A tight plot, strong performances, and a dense atmosphere with some bleak, chilly location photography make it a strong genre effort. As far as Scandinavian crime thrillers go, this one is far superior to that ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ series that’s getting so much attention right now.

@frassivan

Impeccable photography of landscapes and interiors. The plot unfortunately creaks being unable to unravel the characters tangle. Too many causal relationships and coincidences even for a limited and interconnected community as the Icelandic one. Lack of suspense for a thriller which ventures itself into a mild social commentary and insists on sensory counterpoint food / decomposition without really expressing them

Arcanus

Rather Good. I have read some of the books in the series this is based on. Bleaker than bleak. I bet the Iceland Tourist Board would like to ban this film - it paints a terrible picture of Iceland.

FISCHER

Adaptée et plutôt élaguée d'un excellent roman d'Arnaldur Indradason, maître incontesté du polar insulaire, cette oeuvre froide et tranchante, comme l'air et le vent islandais, confirme la solidité et l'originalité d'un metteur en scène nordique peu connu encore, qui mérite une rapide et urgente découverte... www.cinefiches.com

Armando

A grisly, grim crime story in the recent tradition of Scandinavian mysteries. Certainly superior to the average product thanks to its atmospheric settings and disturbing philosophical implications. It seems to evoke the spirit of an entire culture and spans several decades of Icelandic history. In this film, the vast barren landscapes shot from the sky mirror the deep solitude and destitution of its characters.