By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hlynur Palmason
Starring: Hilmir Snær Guðnason | Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir | Ingvar Sigurdsson | Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir
Original language title: Hvítur, hvítur dagur
Country: denmark, iceland, sweden
Year: 2020
Running time: 109
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9801736/reference
Michael says: “There’s something visually striking about the films that come out of Iceland. The landscape, so alien, lends itself well to both quirky humor and dark drama. A WHITE, WHITE DAY is of the latter genre, and is another is my series of films dealing with grief. In this case, Ingimundur, mourning the recent death of his wife. A retired policeman, gruff, taciturn, and imposing, he rarely lets his emotions show, except when he is with his granddaughter Salka, and even then, while the two share a very close bond, he is still reserved and strong for her. When he begins to suspect that his wife may have been having an affair before her death, he develops an unhealthy obsession to discover what went happened. His behavior becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous threatening even his relationship with Salka.
“Writer/director Hlynur Palmason seems to be exploring a similar theme in his second narrative film. His first, WINTER BROTHERS, also deals with men and family relationships. In A WHITE, WHITE DAY, Ingimundur deals with his grief by not dealing with it, a classic male response, burying his emotions so deep that when the erupt, you know it’s going to be explosive. Ingvar Sigurdsson is powerfully convincing as Ingimunudur, portraying a loving grandfather, a former police officer, a vengeful, wronged-husband, and a man incapable of expressing the grief that tears him up inside. Young Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir does a great job as Salka as well, clearly devoted to her grandfather, but worried about him as well, and dealing with her own grief. It’s their relationship that forms the core of the film, and it is presented as unshakable as granite, weathering even the harshest climate. The women in charge of the look of the film deserve great kudos as well. Cinematographer Maria von Hausswolff, and Production Designer Hulda Helgadóttir create a palette that is both beautiful and desolate, that capture the isolation and stifled emotion felt by Ingimundur. Another triumph from Iceland that I recommend! 4 cats”
Diane says: “I give it 4 cats too. I like what Variety reviewer Peter DeBruge said about ‘slow cinema’ in general and WHITE WHITE DAY in particular – that it works differently from mainstream films, because the viewer doesn’t know how she is supposed to feel with each scene. ‘As an audience watches a shot like this for the first time, an unexpected anxiety creeps in: We don’t know what we are waiting for, nor when or why the scene will end.'”