Jar City (2006)

A murder opens up a bleak trail of long buried secrets and small town corruption for a worn out police detective and his squad.

Director:

Baltasar Kormákur

Writers:

Arnaldur Indriðason (novel), Baltasar Kormákur (screenplay)

Stars:

Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson

12 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson	...	Erlendur (as Ingvar E. Sigurðsson)
Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir	...	Eva Lind
Björn Hlynur Haraldsson	...	Sigurður Óli
Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir	...	Elínborg
Atli Rafn Sigurðsson	...	Örn
Kristbjörg Kjeld	...	Katrín
Þorsteinn Gunnarsson	...	Holberg Jónsson
Theodór Júlíusson	...	Elliði
Þórunn Magnea Magnúsdóttir	...	Elín
Guðmunda Elíasdóttir	...	Theodóra
Walter Grímsson	...	Handrukkarar
Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson	...	Handrukkarar
Magnús Ragnarsson	...	Lögfræðingur
Rafnhildur Rósa Atladóttir	...	Kola Örnsdóttir
Jón Sigurbjörnsson	...	Albert

Storyline

Örn's daughter is dead because of a rare genetic disease. By this time Erlendur has to find Holdeberg's killer. He has to find out what happened 30 years ago and to connect it with his case and he has another problem...His relationships with his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | police detective | police | dead body | ashtray | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Memento Films [France]

Country:

Iceland Germany Denmark

Language:

Icelandic

Release Date:

20 October 2006 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Jar City

Filming Locations:

Hvalsnes, Reykjanes, Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

ISK 180,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Pictures, Blueeyes Productions, Degeto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The take-away food Erlendur is eating is boiled sheep's head known as "Svið", an Icelandic delicacy.

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Connections

Featured in Timeshift: Nordic Noir: The Story of Scandinavian Crime Fiction (2010)

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Soundtracks

Pao er vont ao sjá um sig
Written by Mugison

User Reviews

Well-crafted police thriller with more than most of the genre.

Inspector Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson) has to investigate a "messy and pointless" murder. A dirty old man has had his head bashed in in his flat. "Typical Icelandic", he thinks.

Iceland just touches the Arctic circle. It's a long way from anywhere else. It is grey and gritty, spectacular and melancholy, buffeted by blasts of wind, snow and steam. Against this background Erlendur doggedly untangles the connections and the crimes of the past, digging up corpses and secrets shameful or tragic. Landscape and society alike are revealed and commented on, drily and laconically.

Being based on a novel by Iceland's most successful crime writer, the characters are as well known to the home audience as Rebus, for instance, is in Britain, and carry enough of the baggage of real life to make them credible and sympathetic. There are visual themes of burials and exhumations, post-mortems, pathology labs and fast food, and a sound track of male voices shading into electronic moans and growls, which in turn dissolve into the wind. It's a very well-constructed package, which is thought provoking, gruesome, touching and funny, and it's certainly worth seeing.