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Summary then Analysis:

"A White, White Day" follows Ingimundur (brilliantly portrayed by Icelandic actor Ingvar Sigurdsson), a police officer seemingly on leave after the death of his wife. He attempts to fill his time by reconstructing a farm house for his daughter. This turns out to be a Sisyphean task that mirrors his grief for his wife. He also spends his days with his young granddaughter who would jokingly remind him that he is second best to only his late wife.

Ingimundur seems to be in a purgatorial state, living day to day until he finds a video camera in one of his late wife's leftover boxes. Having thought he has found a token of everlasting memory, he is shocked to find a tape that will cal into question their entire relationship.

"A White, White Day" is very much a character study of a man dealing with the grief of a loved one. However, it does not follow a traditional film's storyline. Not time wise, but what we expect.

American films have taught us to follow our protagonist as they pursue a clear cut goal enduring consequences within in a narrow time frame. International directors often reject this notion and we see this with Pálmason's film. The audience becomes spectators to a bipartisan view of a man's attempt to deal with grief. The lens very seldom follows or mirrors what our emotional viewpoint may be at the time. Simply standing back and allowing us to view the product of grief and male machismo. Until... it erupts.

Ingimundur, having doubts about the validity of his relationship or perhaps merely tilting at windmills, partakes a journey to discover the truth behind his relationship. Ingimundur's odyssey is not unlike that of Odysseus': he runs into several obstacles, usually making a conceited or reactionary decision that should only come back to haunt him. All the while building and demolishing his own faith in his relationship. In addition, beginning a journey of knowledge only to find himself in the place where he had started. Knowing it for the first time.

The film ends, in what is perhaps it's most brilliant scene, with Ingimundur sitting on the couch as Memories by Leonard Cohen plays. The raw emotion hits upon all wavelengths he has felt culminating in self recognition of his own grief and destruction.

"A White, White Day" is a tremendous slow-burn drama about how many men bury their grief in an attempt to stay strong for their loved ones. Using unique art direction and long takes, this Icelandic film is a sure pleasure for those with the patience and appreciation for thematic cinema.

What is perhaps one of the best beginnings to a film helps lay the foundation for the rest of this film. Janos is brought to the center of the room being told that, "it is time." From here Janos begins a remedial science lesion on the cosmos. He begins by using a drunken bar patron as the sun. Then another as the earth. Finally, another as the moon. He explains the rotation of the three celestial bodies in what appears to be a drunken daze. However, Janos stop the rotation of the bar patrons and begins his monologue. Janos' language changes; the music resonates throughout the scene. Janos gives the patrons an allegorical tale of the eclipse; stating the sense of unrest that the animals and people experience as this sudden change shadows the earth. However, the chaos is only momentary. Order is soon restored. Shortly after his speech, Janos and the drunken patrons begin to dance at which point the barkeep kicks Janos out of the bar. In a rather ominous tone, Janos exclaims to the barkeep that "it is not over." I summarize the beginning of this spectacular film because the magnificent Bela Tarr has laid out everything we need to know in these short 11 minutes to understand his work. We are told that the story is going to be an allegory; an allegory of great chaos brought upon a population of the ignorant (The eclipse frightening the animals natural order of life). We are told that most everything in the film will be symbolic (The earth, sun, and moon acting as natural life with disorder). We are given the weather conditions and the dereliction of the town which further sets the tone of the film. Finally, we are given the pace of the film. Patience is needed. A film captured in a mere 39 shots in what feels archaic black and white (Again acting as a symbol for the Post WWII desolate town and its intoxicated population). The film follows our protagonist, Janos, as he meanders through his life playing an oxymoronic archetype of the wise fool. His small Hungarian town is awakened from their inexorable lassitude by the arrival of a circus attraction. This attraction is a giant stuffed whale and accompanying the whale is The Prince; a mysterious and shamanistic disturbance to the town's feeling of unrest and neglect. The Prince then capitalizes on the ignorance of the town, leading them to form a mob and storm the hospital. Janos is forced to play the unifier and bring the town out of the eclipse. Tarr has created literature in motion with this masterpiece. Harmonies is more of an experience than anything else. I watched this film maybe 10 years ago and am just now writing this review. The film resonates and challenges our ability to interpret. It is almost like we as viewers would wish to have a SparkNotes page for this film, so we could understand the symbolic nature of the whale, the prince, and so much more. Yet, we are given no interpretations; just as I will leave you with no further explanations. Just a recommendation to find this film and let patience truly be the greatest virtue of them all.

Films lately have been going down hill. This year though has brought the films back to where they have been in past years. There Will Be blood is the story of an oil man who buys up land from numerous families in a small town with hopes of getting rich. Along with his son H.W., Daniel faces problems with the town religious freak ( wonderfully done by Paul Dano). Daniel day lewis gives the best performance in the past 10 years. This is a story of greed, religion, and family. So many scenes that will have you in awe. There Will Be Blood is going to have trouble being recognized due to the other films this year that are getting so much hype. Definitely one of the finest films I have seen in the past few years. highly recommended.