Woman at War

By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Starring: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir | Jóhann Sigurðarson | Jörundur Ragnarsson | Juan Camillo Roman Estrada

Original language title: Kona fer í stríð

Country: france, iceland, ukraine

Year: 2019

Running time: 101

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7279188/reference

Brett says: “A surefire candidate for a Chlotrudis ‘Best Use of Music in a Film,’ WOMAN AT WAR dives deep into the story of an middle-aged eco-activist who dedicates herself to putting a cause she believes in above her own steady day-to-day state of normalcy. This film does a marvelous job of steering clear of the temptation to get preachy and instead uses the circumstances of main character Halla’s environmental warrior agenda to complicate the film’s manner of characterization and story with an excellent sense of wit and craftsmanship that’s completely unique from any other film I’ve seen. A choir director in the everyday life, Halla masks her cause with the beautiful harmonies and unified efforts of a community singing ensemble. It is a sweet backdrop to an otherwise intense and arduous climb for her character, whose ambitions lead her to pursue a sabotage of an industrial aluminum smelter in the middle of a pristine, bucolic area of Iceland. The use of music in a diagetic sense in her scenes as choir director  juxtaposes perfectly with an ingenious use of what would normally serve as nondiagetic sound in the form of a musical score hovering over the narrative. The performers of this score—a three-piece band and trio of traditional folk singers—physically reside within the narrative taking on a characterization all their own as each group couples itself with Halla to present a surreal story arc that heightens the audience’s attachments to Halla, the music, and the film’s many themes. Not only is the use of music physically and audibly an effective means of emotional allure, director Benedikt Erlingsson creatively connects motifs scattered throughout the film to provide layers to the plot that far exceed an obvious ‘show and tell.’ Great film for discussion after viewing with fans of cinema, as there is plenty here within each character (even the dog) and in some clever visual motifs that play into the narrative. It’s a film that has racked up a considerable amount of awards in its home country of Iceland and around the international festival scene, and finally after arriving in the U.S., it’s not difficult to understand why it’s been so esteemed by critics. This is a gem that has somehow escaped discussions in my circle of film-goers, so hopefully its relatively recent arrival at theaters in the States will garner some 2019 momentum. 4 curiosity-filled Cats out of 5

*recommended for fans of thematic elements presented with a flair for surrealism

*recommended for fans of unique film scores

*recommended for fans of misunderstood freedom fighters “

Michael says: “I tell you, Iceland is hitting it out of the park this movie release year. Watched a really great film from Iceland called WOMAN AT WAR, in which Halla, a fifty-year-old environmental activist is waging a one-person eco-sabotage mission against an Icelandic aluminum company that, in going international, threatens to destroy the Icelandic highlands.When she receives notice that an adoption request for a Ukranian orphan that she submitted 4-years ago has been accepted, it threatens to change her entire outlook on life and she plans one last, major move against the company.