[psycho d]

Jar City (2006). An Icelandic triumph? This crime drama from the cold and dreary realms of Iceland could almost rely on the laurels of its cinematography, which transports the viewer to an alien land of frozen glaciers and bogs that are volcanically and geologically fussy. But this flick is more than a visual treat, for the characters are just as wonderfully tough and bitter as the weather, rugged cookies with real and twisted lives, just like in the states and everywhere else I suppose. As this film unfolds, we almost get a taste of this isolated country, with a trip to a fast food joint providing fare that is as chilling and disgusting as the seedy tastes of this frosty society. The acting, pooling its talent from a rather small pond, provided a wonderful cast for the job at hand. The story itself, cookie-cutter at times, sprinkled with humor both light and dark, was also a multilayered affair with twists and turns, an occasionally disjointed time-line, which has its seemingly tangential events come together in its denouement. An island half the size of England with around 320,000 people, there is almost a small town feel to the whole of it, heaping an almost incestuous air onto these isolated peoples. With all aspects of this movie handled with adroit flare, it was a rare treat to be transported into this forgotten island of humanity.
Genruk