L'iceberg

Make no mistake about it, Belgium is a country whose cinema is to be reckoned with. They are perfectly able to turn out some edgy psychological dramas ('De Zaak Alzeimers',or as it's known in this country,'Mind Of A Killer'),as well as some silly,surreal comedy's (as in the case of this film). The Iceberg is one of those films in the later category. The story concerns a middle aged housewife in Brussels, who accidentally gets locked in a meat locker in the local fast food take away where she manages,has a traumatic experience as a result of it, and ends up leaving her family to take up in a quirky seaside village in (one supposes)Scotland. What happens from there has to be seen to be believed. Slapstick comedy occasionally ensues this candy coloured gem of a film. I know I certainly walked out feeling good about myself. You'll have to keep your eyes opened,as this film probably won't play out at many cinemas (and as far as I know, no American standard DVD exists as of yet,despite the fact that the film was released in 2005).

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?

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 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.

"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!