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Jar City – Movie Review

Jar City is a murder mystery thriller that comes out of the cold and visually different country Iceland. Touting Best film, actor and director at the Edda awards (Iceland’s Oscars) this could have meant anything (really how many films come out of Iceland?). So with no idea exactly what I was getting myself into, I popped the film into the player and settled into a cold and starkly gripping film.

Starring Ingvar Eggert Sigurasson (don’t ever get me to pronounce that please), Jar City tell the story of Erlendur a detective that investigates a what he thinking is a house break-in gone very bad. While looking for clues within the apartment of the murder victim Erlendur comes across an old photo which leads him on a journey that has 30+ years of sadness and lies. The film also follows Orn (Atli Rafn Sigurasson) a family man that is looking for the reason the death of his daughter to a horrendous genetic condition that he unwittingly passed on. Jar City for the most part follows Erlendur’s investigation and also the struggle of his home life with a junkie daughter that floats in and out of his life. Orn’s story plays out primarily in flashbacks of his morally questionable acts to find answers.

What will first strike you as a view of this film is the colour palate, is muted dull and generally bleak looking. Now I am not sure if Iceland actually looks that dull or it was the film makers intent to give it a drab look. Either way this film won’t set your television alight with pretty visuals. The second thing that really caught my attention is a big cultural hurdle that I had no idea of, food. Watching Erlendur eat a boiled sheep’s head was a little repulsive, even for me who can stomach nearly anything on screen. Lastly the score is something dark, beautiful and all together depressing. This film doesn’t sell Iceland as a tourist destination and I fully credit them for not commercializing it up.

The thing about this film is the story will actually pull you in regardless of all the things I mention above. Ingvar give a solid performance as Erlendur, a man who is just doing his job. As the mystery slowly gets deeper and while not it isn’t hugely complicated, it does make your wonder how many secrets and how much guilt is being carried by a small group of people that in reality has an affect on the whole nation. My biggest concern with the film is the use of flashback through out which does give some confusion especially in the first half of the film as to the timeline of some scenes. It did leave me guessing what was going on a few times, but in the end it didn’t matter as the ending is solid and satisfying.

I would recommend this film to anyone who loves a good “Who done it” film which isn’t typically US-styled CSI drama or police procedural. Great performances, different look and a story that will drag you in once you accustomed yourself to how the film is played out in front of you.

Jar City is released by Madman Entertainment in Australia on 6th of April and is also available at Amazon.com via it’s Video on Demand Service.

Cover Art ©BLUEEYES PRODUCTIONS 2008 All Rights Reserved.

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Article Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jar_City_(film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805576/

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One Response to “Jar City – Movie Review”

1. Romain says:

   Yes, yes, yes, cool movie. And the novels are excellent as well!!!

   March 11, 2009 at 8:20 pm

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