Stormy Weather (2003)

A very sad but genuinely human story. The middle-aged Icelandic woman Loa is seriously mentally ill. Finally it turns out that her husband is a latent alcoholic who submits to his addiction... See full summary »

Director:

Sólveig Anspach

Writers:

Sólveig Anspach, Roger Bohbot

Stars:

Élodie Bouchez, Didda Jónsdóttir, Baltasar Kormákur

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Élodie Bouchez	...	Cora
Didda Jónsdóttir	...	Loa
Baltasar Kormákur	...	Einar
Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson	...	Gunnar (as Ingvar E. Sigurðsson)
Christophe Sermet	...	Romain
Natan Cogan	...	Grandfather
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sigridur Bragadottir
Christian Crahay	...	Le médecin-chef
Fabrice De Coster
Sigurdur Ellasson
Vincent Feuillen
Tinna Gudmundsdóttir	...	Tinna
Davíð Örn Halldórsson	...	David
Thuuridur Helgadottir
Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir	...	Gudrun

Storyline

A very sad but genuinely human story. The middle-aged Icelandic woman Loa is seriously mentally ill. Finally it turns out that her husband is a latent alcoholic who submits to his addiction whenever Loa leaves him. When she is at home, she is living a normal life and taking care of her children. Sometimes she cannot stand it any longer and just runs away. During one such tour she was eventually found in England. During the tour of the present movie she has ended up in a mental hospital in France, without identification papers and apparently being mute. The young psychiatrist Cora is in charge of her and applies unorthodox methods. She is the only one who suspected that Loa might not be French. Interpol soon identified Loa and on Cora's day off she was sent home. Cora immediately flows to Iceland, where everyone including Loa's husband thinks she is a tourist wanting to see the volcano. Loa is prepared to follow Cora back to the French hospital. Unfortunately, the local doctor happens ...

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Belgium Iceland France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

19 September 2003 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Nawalnica

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company Credits

Production Co:

AB3, Blueeyes Productions, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Loa: Cora!

User Reviews

"Internally poetic, cinematographically atmospheric..."

Icelandic screenwriter and documentary and narrative feature film director Sólveig Anspach's second feature film which she co-wrote with screenwriters Cécile Vargaftig, Pierre Erwan Guillaume and Roger Bohbot, is inspired by a newspaper article she read regarding a mysterious eighteen-year-old who was found in France. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 56th Cannes International Film Festival in 2003, was shot on location in Belgium and Iceland and is a France-Belgium-Iceland co-production which was produced by producer Patrick Sobelman. It tells the story about a psychiatrist at a hospital in Paris, France named Cora Levine and her communication with a new acquaintance.

Distinctly and subtly directed by Icelandic filmmaker Sólveig Anspach, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the two main characters' viewpoints, draws a substantially reflective portrayal of a person who crosses ethical boundaries by intervening in the life of a person she thinks she can help. While notable for its dense and majestic milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by cinematographer Benoit Dervaux and use of sound and colors, this character-driven story about people like all of us who are the way they are without there being any simplistic, if necessary or if any whatsoever reason for them being as they are, a non-fictional community where people are accepted as a part of the whole and who actually is helped when someone who regards themselves as of superior intellectual and emotional intelligence chastises the independence of a human being, imposes one's compassion and attempts to invade into a person's mind with the altruistic intention of curing that person from the person he or she is, depicts two humanely perspicacious studies of character and contains a timely score by composer Alexandre Desplat.

This calmly conversational, down-to-earth and densely humorous indie from the early 2000s which is set in France and Iceland in the 21st century and where a person who lives in an internal silence where words are unspoken is driven to confide to a stranger who has more empathy than knowledge, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, the noteworthy acting performance by Icelandic poet Didda Jónsdóttir and the significant acting performances by French actress Éloide Bouchez and Icelandic actors Baltasar Kormákur and Ingvar E. Sigurdsson. An internally poetic, cinematographically atmospheric and resonating reflection on the human mystery.