Cold Light (2004)

What could be better than knowing your future? And what could be worse? A love-filled childhood abruptly ends when catastrophe descends. One that the child had foreseen yet failed to act upon.

Director:

Hilmar Oddsson

Writers:

Vigdís Grímsdóttir (novel), Hilmar Oddsson (screenplay)

Stars:

Ingvar Sigurdsson, Unnur Ösp Stefánsdóttir, Ruth Olafsdottir

11 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingvar Sigurdsson	...	Older Grímur (as Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson)
Unnur Ösp Stefánsdóttir	...	Woman in reception
Ruth Olafsdottir	...	Linda
Steinunn Harðardóttir	...	Svava
Borghildur Thors	...	Woman in a window
Áslákur Ingvarsson	...	Young Grímur
Katla M. Þorgeirsdóttir	...	Lára
Helga Braga Jónsdóttir	...	Guðbjörg
Snæfríður Ingvarsdóttir	...	Gottína
Kristbjörg Kjeld	...	Álfrún
Thórey Sigthórsdóttir	...	Thóra, Grimur's mother
Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir	...	Anna
Marta Nordal	...	Woman at the exhibition
Elís Philip William Scobie	...	Young Tumi
Björn Hlynur Haraldsson	...	Indriði

Storyline

A 40-year-old is hiding in a self-made prison of mundane life. The film opens as he finally becomes resolved to dare gaze at and come to terms with someone's totally different life. His unthinkable past. He turbulently sheds the cobwebs to find that light and happiness have been awaiting him. And this potentially cold cinematic knock on life's door becomes a defiantly uplifting work of art.

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Plot Keywords:

childhood | female nudity | old lady | nude painting | female frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

Do you sometimes feel that you know something will happen before it does? Something bad...

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Grímur at young and older ages is played by real-life father and son.

User Reviews

A must see!

Of all the films I've seen at this year so far, Oddsson's poetic and compelling film (an adaptation he planned for 15 years) has impressed me the most--but that could largely be due to the fact that I encountered it with absolutely no expectations. It's possible that it has minor flaws (in the pacing of its third act, for example) but these are merely quibbles against a film that is unusually insightful regarding childhood imagination, and such themes as the role of art in emotional journeys and the ambiguous relationship between Man and Nature. It's based on an Icelandic novel that begins with a sensitive young boy who navigates life with his close-knit family in a fishing village by sketching abstract images merging the people he loves with portentous fears. Later, the boy grows up and finds himself emotionally crippled on account of a tragic past. However, instead of telling the story linearly, as the novel does, the film expertly juxtaposes the past and present throughout, drawing complex parallels between them and culminating with the dramatic climax of both eras simultaneously. Gorgeously shot on location with the Scandinavian light and warm interiors in counterpoint, the film is a thematically nuanced and emotionally powerful character study. Keep an eye out for it.

Details

Official Sites:

Production Company - synopsis

Country:

Iceland Norway UK Germany

Language:

Icelandic English German

Release Date:

1 January 2004 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Cold Light

Filming Locations:

Reykjavík, Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icelandic Film, Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), Filmhuset AS

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1