Brúðguminn (2008)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Baltasar Kormákur

Writers:

Baltasar Kormákur (screenplay) and
Ólafur Egilsson (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (Iceland)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Hilmir Snær Guðnason	...	Jón
Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir	...	Anna
Laufey Elíasdóttir	...	Þóra
Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson	...	Börkur
Jóhann Sigurðarson	...	Lárus
Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir	...	Sísí
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson	...	Sjonni
Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir	...	Matthildur
Ólafur Egilsson	...	Séra Ólafur
Karl Guðmundsson	...	Jon's father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herdís Þorvaldsdóttir	...	Kristín

Also Known As:

White Night Wedding (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

Canada:96 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Iceland

Language:

Icelandic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Filming Locations:

Flatey, Iceland

Company:

Blueeyes Productions

Trivia:

Iceland's official entry for the 2009 foreign-language Oscar.

live, laugh, cry, drink and meander in the white nights of iceland

Hmmmmm. And an admiring hmm at that. First thing I thought of is the same kind of emotional juxtaposition or almost confusion that rings through this movie as Reykevik 101 (the director's first film). Back then I was very uncomfortable with that, now still not normal per se but more manageable yet kind of refreshing.

Base on an Chekhov's Ivanov, the film alters back and forth wonderfully over time on events before and immediately leading up to a wedding on an island between an professor and a young girl. While the story's theme obviously stated in the movie and told by the director in Q&A, is about searching for happiness and doing the "right" thing, many hilarious moments are interjected directly with the dramatic moments and vice versa. And these moments of emotional swings are very immediate creating a push and pull effect. And this might affect some audience immersing into the story.

Q&A also brought out the same cast also acted in a stage production of the same play during the same time as the film's release in Iceland and was a very successful run. At times though, I did find a certain "lecturing" aspect in a few of the scenes. So although good, still a very idealistic or somewhat protruding kind of meandering.