Cold Fever (1995)
"Á köldum klaka" (original title)

A Japanese businessman travels to Iceland and has a series of misadventures while venturing to a remote area to perform a traditional burial ritual where his parents died several years back.

Director:

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson

Writers:

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, Jim Stark

Stars:

Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Hirata
Lili Taylor	...	Jill
Fisher Stevens	...	Jack
Gísli Halldórsson	...	Siggi
Laura Hughes	...	Laura
Seijun Suzuki	...	Hirata's Grandfather
Hiromasa Shimada	...	Suzuki
Masayuki Sasaki	...	Higashino
Taizô Mizumura	...	Hirata's father
Ichiko Takashi	...	Hirata's mother
Taeko Kato	...	Girl in TV show
Toshimori Iwaki	...	TV show commentator
Ari Matthíasson	...	Bus guide
Magnús Ólafsson	...	Taxi driver
Rúrik Haraldsson	...	Grave digger

Storyline

Hirata finds himself canceling his vacation plans to Hawaii when his grandfather reminds him of his duty to his parents. Seven years earlier, Hirata's parents had been killed in an accident in Iceland and Japanese tradition holds that their souls will not be at ease until the proper ceremonies have been performed. Thus, Hirata sets out on a journey, a quest to the river where his parents perished. Along the way, in this Icelandic-Japanese road movie, he encounters many difficulties, tough situations, and odd people in the land of fire and ice. Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's vision infuses Iceland's stark and beautiful landscape with a haunting spirituality.

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Plot Keywords:

iceland | japanese | tradition | journey | ritual | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA Japan Iceland Denmark Germany

Language:

English Icelandic Japanese German

Release Date:

5 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cold Fever

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

ISK 130,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$337,560 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icicle, Altar Productions, Film Fonds

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in I Am Curious, Film (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Upp til fjalla"
Written by Hallbjörn Hjartarson and Rúnar Kristjánsson
Performed by Hallbjörn Hjartarson

User Reviews

A great film to watch with a bottle of your favourite wine.

A friend of mine gave me this video about a year ago. It never took me long to get round to watching it as he told me what a great film it was. The night in question me and my then girlfriend sat in front of the television and nothing was said until an hour and half later. Engrossing, exhausting and enlightening are all words which I would assiocate with this film. It is a great journey of a film starting in Japan and working its way to the empty expance of Iceland the pace is subdued though relentless. It is cultural and mystical, saddening and humorous. It is also one of the best films I've ever seen. It reminds me of a mixture of directors from its style, Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch and Gus Van Sant have all created films in which the same kind of atmosphere can be felt of crowded iscolation. p.s. watch for the gnome in the backround as he walks from the car to the farm.