User reviews

The Belgian comedy, "L'Iceberg," is such a head-scratching little oddity that it is virtually impossible to describe it for anyone who hasn't already seen it. It's a highly stylized tale of a young restaurant manager who decides to break away from her stultifying and humdrum existence after she inadvertently locks herself in a freezer overnight - only to discover, once she gets out, that her husband and their two carbon-copy young children have failed to notice her absence. Realizing her utter insignificance to those around her, Fiona strikes out on her own, abandoning her job and staying away from home for long stretches of time - eventually setting out to sea with a mysterious deaf/mute sailor she meets along the way.

Utilizing concepts straight out of the Theater of the Absurd, "L'Iceberg" pokes fun at the sterility of modern life, as Fiona finally breaks free of the bonds of domesticity and goes on a quest for love and adventure. Directors Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (who play the husband and wife in the film) have composed their film almost entirely of straight-on block shots, perfect for emphasizing the surreal spareness of the drama and setting. The lanky, bug-eyed Gordon, who looks for all the world like a cross between Frances McDormand and a stringy-haired Olive Oyl, plays Fiona with a mouth-breathing, deadpanned seriousness that enhances our empathy for the character and heightens the satirical nature of the piece.

Original in concept and bold in execution, "L'Iceberg" is irrepressibly imaginative and visually inventive in its cockeyed portrayal of the world around us.

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

A charming, sweet, somewhat surreal throwback to silent films.

The three filmmakers are also all professional clowns, and about 85% of the film is without dialog.

Shot in a theatrical, low budget way, it recalls a smaller, less ambitious and philosophical Roy Andersson.

It made me laugh out loud a couple of times, and smile a good deal.

However, even at 84 minutes it did start to drag a bit by the end, and some of the bits started to wear thin.

None-the-less, a lovely, worthwhile experimental nod to Chaplin, Keaton, et al, if not quite on their level of genius. But then, who is?

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 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.

I will not bother with a plot description of L'Iceberg, since that has been done adequately by a previous reviewer. However, I must disagree with that same person's opinions about the film.

In short it is a very bleak and rather depressing type of comedy. The central character and her family lead a desperately empty existence, which is portrayed well by the bleak cinematography of Belgian suburbia and a dreary port town.

There is precious little dialogue and yet plenty of Belgian-style slapstick interaction between characters. The effect of the film is not uplifting, cheery or even diverting. I have watched many many French-language films - and unfortunately this was the worst I have ever seen.

You have been warned.

I was simply enchanted by seeing this movie. From the beginning till the end, it captivated me. And I must note that Belgian (not French: Belgian, it is quite not the same!) cinema is the best one: remember "Man Bites Dog" (French Title: "C'est arrivé près de chez vous", means "it occurred just near your home")! The authors, worthy heirs of Jacques Tati ("Les Vacances de M. Hulot"/"M. Hulot's Holidays", "Mon Oncle"/"My uncle", ...) , give us a movie full of poetry and refined humor. It is pure fantasy, all you got to do is to let you go to it! Go and see this movie, quickly, and if it does not play in a theatre near you, come and visit Paris or Bruxelles... You'll be able to see it!

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).

I bought this garbage for only $3 in the used DVD bargain bin, and I still feel ripped off and cheated - out of money and time.

I am not a bore, and I do appreciate intelligent art films and such. This however is a quiet, go-nowhere, predictable, pretentious film that should never have been made. I am disturbed to think that the filmmakers are out there somewhere congratulating themselves on this garbage. I'm sure fans will think they are very smart for sitting through this mind-numbing catastrophe.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.

Synopsis: Quirky girl stuck in fridge, gets out, notices no one loves her, develops affinity for all things cold and men on boats, pursues ice. The End.

There, I just saved you from wasting your time watching "L' Iceberg." You're welcome.

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?

I like a good artsy film once in a while, but this was just one of the worst movies ever, what a waste of an hour and a half. 6+ stars, what kind of drugs are you people on, give me a break. My wife and I both hated it, the best part was the end, when it was finally over. The acting was bad, the idea and plot was bad. The filming was not good either, lots of blue screen ocean shots. Don't waste your time and ignore the positive reviews, there is always someone that likes every movie, regardless of how bad they are. Were there a few redeeming and humorous scenes, of course, there are in almost every movie, but we found this very painful to watch. However since it was so short, we were stuck after giving it 30 or so minutes, we had to finish it up. Trust us, don't waste the effort.

"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!