The Sea

Despite being set against the paralyzing beauty of the Icelandic

coast, "The Sea" is nothing more than standard family reunion

drama. We've all seen this movie before whether in high form

"Celebration" or the more banal "Home for the Holidays." Although

"The Sea" shoots for the high form, it fails to surpass the banal. In

Baltasar Kormakur's sophomore feature (he also directed the

critically acclaimed 101 Reykjavik), he explores the explosive

relationship between parents and children. The plot revolves

around an aging owner of a small-town fishing business, more

specifically, his narrow vision of the future and the forces of

progress and time that stand in his way. While Kormakur's

themes are explicit and the tension apparent, the transitions

between moods and the dramatic arc are confused and sloppy.



The film begins by introducing us to the perils facing the mom and

pop store equivalent of the fishing industry: technologically inferior,

inefficient and out-performed by the corporate competition. In the

face of outstanding loses and potential bankruptcy, the stubborn

aging owner who built the enterprise and consequently the town

that has grown from its existence refuses to sell out. Instead, the

weak man calls upon his children in hopes that they will be

inspired by a duty to family and home, resurrect the dying industry

and restore the business to the father's imagined version of its

glory days. The children, who have long abandoned any sentimental connection with home land, have different ideas. The

reunion and father's request only reminds them of the years of

suffering and mistreatment they endured while under his roof and

the repressed anger they harbored after all of these years.



The film undergoes a major transition as it shifts between the first

and second acts. The first is designed as some light introduction

to the backward ways of the Icelandic rural society and the

incompatibility between the coca-cola city kids and the coarse

nature of the unruly outback. However, as the film shifts from perils

of the practice to perils of the past, and as the comic relief is

substituted with explosions of anger, the emotional outbursts and

the venomous shouting matches seem ill-explained. The cause

lacks the force to bring about the ensuing eruptions, which in the

end seem almost farcical on account of their extreme nature.

Nevertheless in light of several outstanding shortcomings,

Baltasar does shoot some very beautiful scenes and framed a set

on par with poetry. Unfortunately, there was no bite to the

provocative premise.

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Douglas Sirk spends a family weekend in an Icelandic outport. Tyrannical father, dissipated children, conspiracy, destruction, alcohol, incest, and as a contemporary touch some spray painting. No Rock Hudson, though.

Greetings again from the darkness. No "Happy Days" here. The best compliment I can pay this movie is that I stayed interested despite the pathetic individuals and families portrayed. Very little human redeeming value in any of the characters with the possible exception of the french girlfriend and the daughters husband, Mortin, played by Sven Nordin (who was excellent in last year's "Elling"). Sad, desperate, isolated. These describe not only the characters, but Iceland as portrayed in the movie. What kind of airport is that? There is sufficient biting humor among the family that one initially believes that there might be some deeply buried love, but as the movie progresses we begin to understand why this is really not a family - just a bunch of loose cannons connected by fate. Wonderful camera work and sharp dialog make this one worth seeing, just be prepared for an emotional challenge.

Second-time Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur presents "The Sea", a film that, if you have a positive view of people, will make you think a second time about human qualities.

As this is only the fourth film I see from Iceland, my view of Icelandic cinema has not changed- it's very good, actually. Kormákur continues where he left off with "101 Reykjavik", and plunges into Ólafur Haukur Símonarsons play with fierce misanthropy. There are two characters with a few positive traits (Morten and the French woman, forgot her name), but these two are outsiders and only supporting characters. I hated each and every member of this family, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the film, which is a peek into the most base instincts of human behaviour: adultery, greed, racism, incest, apathy and hate. "The Sea" is a bit over the top at times, but it is never ruined by digressions or by lack of reality with which it treats its characters.

The Icelandic people seem to be treated by their directors (again I'm generalizing a bit since Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and Kormákur are the only directors I know) as a very tough, ruggish people who don't let mistreatment ruin their joy of life. Early in the film, the youngest son of Thordur (the patriarch and owner of the fishing industry), tells his French girlfriend that when his sister was raped as a young girl, their father reacted more aggressively towards her because she became upset, than with the rapist who ruined his only (or is it?..) daughter's life. "An idiot raped by an idiot", their father claimed. This statement is very characteristic of the film. The plot is constructed around Thordur, now an ageing man who wants to gather all his children and their families to tell them something important: They are greedy and they'll get nothing from him. His children with their partners, his wife and his mother are then gathered at his house, and we get to know them bit by bit, until we learn how they became this family and then your sympathy will just decline. The opening hour is extremely funny, which is one of this film's best assets. But it's funny in a cruel way, and the cruelty is just escalating throughout the motion picture, until there is nothing but cruelty left at the end. Thordur's mother, Kata, is portrayed as very funny, but totally ignorant of the world and she is not nice to the people around her. Thordur's three legitimate children were born by a dying mother, and throughout her illness Thordur kept his wife's sister (Kristin) as his mistress, in their house. The children's mother's sister (Kristin) is presently Thordur's wife, and she also has a grown up daughter (Maria), who is in love with Thordur's youngest son (I've forgot a lot of names, even if I saw the film yesterday! sorry), even though they grew up as brother and sister. This theme of incest is perhaps the most sickening theme in the film, but it's nice compared with the greed of Thordur's children and Thordur's inhuman, megalomaniac behaviour towards his kids.

This is a film which is at times hard to watch because of the uncomfortable human relationships. But the actors, the direction and the cinematography is impeccable; brilliant. Jean-Louis Vialard has captured Iceland's wild but beautiful nature magnificently: especially when Thordur's daughter Ragnheidur, her Norwegian husband (Morten) and her son drive through the mountains to get home to her father- the photography struck me as superb. The sense of a decaying village is perfectly portrayed by Kormákur. The themes of this film is reminiscient of a master like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and it struck me as just as misanthropic as Ulrich Seidls brilliant "Dog Days".

Though the setting is Icelandic, the themes of this familial drama are universal. An aging fishing mogul invites his estranged children home and all hell breaks loose as dark family secrets are revealed and the future of the family and community at large is decided. While there is something to despise in every character (except for perhaps the French girlfriend of the youngest son trapped in the fray) the viewer is left feeling sympathy for almost everyone when all the family feels in the end is apathy for each other. The director seems to be saying that may be the greatest tragedy of all. Dark humor and small glimmers of hope (some family members escape to new lives abroad and the community seems to survive the meltdown and trudges forward) keep the film from becoming too depressing. A beautiful music score and some nice cinematography highlight the often bleak Icelandic landscape. Great direction and powerhouse performances from the international cast help the film soar to operatic heights. A must see for any fan of familial dramas.

Also recommended: "Angels and Insects" and "American Beauty."