Jar City

Having read all of Arnaldur Indriðason's novels, I was very pleased when I heard that Baltasar Kormákur was planning to make this film. The press immediately started a sort of a Scarlett O'Hara search, in terms of finding an actor capable of portraying detective inspector Erlendur. When Ingvar Sigurðsson was finally chosen, I must admit that I wasn't that keen, as I felt that he was not at all the right type. Having seen the film now I must admit that I need not have worried. Ingvar Sigurðsson's portrayal of Erlendur is first class throughout, both the bitter and tender aspects of that complex character. All the cast is indeed great, most notable though Atli Rafn Sigurðsson as the grieving father, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir as Eva Lind, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson and Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir, as Erlendur's associates Sigurður Óli and Elínborg, and Theódór Júlíusson as the veteran hooligan Elliði. The cinematography is the best I've seen in any Icelandic film, the editing "par excellence", and the music extremely powerful. One has to give credit to the Reykjavik Police Choir, for the excellent singing. This is a film that everyone has to see, and I'm quite certain that it will scoop up quite a few awards at various film festivals. Keep on at it Baltasar. And hopefully you will bring other novels by Arnaldur Indriðason, such as Grafarþögn and Röddin to the silver screen.

This is a well made, enjoyable crime thriller that manages to sustain tension and interest throughout its run time and marries this with some well handled comic moments. The main character, Erlunder, is a multi-layered and believable, ageing, seen-it-all-before cop, while the scenes involving discovery of dead bodies are skin-crawlingly well acted and nauseously realistic.

However, given the kind of budgets and talent available to producers of TV crime series these days, Jar City suffers from the fact that the plot really could form an episode of CSI:Rejkjavik or, dare I say it Taggart (a old British crime series). There are no huge surprises or twists in the tail - it is, essentially, a standard, old fashioned who/why dunnit.

However, what sets Jar City apart from CSI and its ilk is the cinematography. Obviously I've seen images of Iceland before - but I've never seen it captured in such a bleak, but beautiful fashion. Iceland itself is centrally important to the character of this film (and might even be said to be one of the characters) and its strangely picturesque scenery and, in some cases, downright weirdness, make Jar City worth watching just for this alone.

An intelligent, engaging, multi-layered storyline that blends strained family relations, unsolved murders, and infuses some Icelandic customs keeping the viewer captivated from beginning to end. Despite the lack of shock value, the film maintains a consistent sense of suspense throughout. "Jar City" is chilly and cerebral, but also morbidly and powerfully alive.

In 1974, a young Icelandic girl dies at the hands of a murderer, and the crime was never solved. In present day, the aged and exhausted detective Erlendur begins to investigate a link between that notorious unsolved crime, and the unrelated homicide of a local criminal years after the fact. Erlendur has a difficult private life, his wife has passed away, and he has a pregnant daughter Eva Lind (Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir) who is a drug addict and roams the streets.

Meanwhile, Örn (Atli Rafn Sigurdarson), an employee at a DNA-mapping lab, struggles with the death of his own daughter, who suffered from a brain tumor. In time, the two men's lives will intersect in a myriad of ways that neither can even begin to foresee -- and the motivation for Holberg's original crime will become resoundingly clear.

Director Baltasar Kormákur elegantly churns out a first-rate mystery by dressing it with organic cinematography and a score reminiscent of eerie Gregorian chants. But his best move is a focus on an unlikely secondary character - Iceland itself. He wisely employs this unique, almost otherworldly qualities of its setting--presented as both beautiful and threatening. The cinematography is simply stunning, truly enhancing the ambiance to an ominous storyline and landscape.

"Jar City" turns out to be intricate, haunting puzzle of motivations. The murder, of an old man named Holberg, opens up a nest of older crimes and brooding secrets. Erlendur finds himself investigating a possible rape from 30 years before and unraveling a tangled history of police corruption and petty brutality. What it all has to do with Holberg is no more clear to the audience than it is to the detective. But Erlendur's combination of bluntness and analytical acumen informs Mr. Kormákur's storytelling technique, making "Jar City" an unusually forceful and thought-provoking thriller. "Jar City" (or Mýrin), is adapted from Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason's 2000 best-seller, "Tainted Blood."

Jar City is an excellent police procedural thriller, yet also far more than just that. It takes the biggest issues in human life, loss, past secrets, family loyalties, human decency and wasted lives and spins them into a flawless thread with the traditional fare of the detective plot, hidden crimes, corruption, suspense and plot twists.

The filming style is refreshing for anyone raised on Hollywood who-dunnit's, with real locations and down to earth acting; on a par with Mississippi Burning IMO. That it's in Icelandic as an English speaker made no difference to me, I was gripped by this film. Jar City, the frailty of human life displayed!

In my opinion it's a pretty good movie based on the fact it's from Iceland and we are unfortunately not know for our talent in the movie industry. Even thought I'm not too pleased with the casting of the main character, Erlendur, who does not look a thing like the character in the book the movie is based on, It's not too bad at all. The performance of Erlendur's daughter Eva Lind, played by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, I must say it's was quite a shock how well she did. But here back in Iceland she is know for here TV-show where she is a diva called Sivía Nótt whom a lot of us aren't to keen on but I think it's just an Icelandic humor that not everybody gets. I do recommend this movie. It's not for the fragile sort of people. And since it's a typical Icelandic movie there are a lot of harsh words and it's a bit rough. I apologize for my spelling and hope you enjoy this movie. Thanks =)