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 Sigurdsson, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson

12 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingvar Sigurdsson	...	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 characters of Örn and his daughter, Kola, are played by real life father & daughter, Atli Rafn Sigurðsson and Rafnhildur Rósa Atladóttir, respectively.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
from the oratorio "Solomon"
Written by George Frideric Handel

User Reviews

Wonderful thriller.

An intelligent, engaging, multi-layered storyline that blends strained family relations, unsolved murders, and infuses some Icelandic customs keeping the viewer captivated from beginning to end. Despite the lack of shock value, the film maintains a consistent sense of suspense throughout. "Jar City" is chilly and cerebral, but also morbidly and powerfully alive.

In 1974, a young Icelandic girl dies at the hands of a murderer, and the crime was never solved. In present day, the aged and exhausted detective Erlendur begins to investigate a link between that notorious unsolved crime, and the unrelated homicide of a local criminal years after the fact. Erlendur has a difficult private life, his wife has passed away, and he has a pregnant daughter Eva Lind (Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir) who is a drug addict and roams the streets.

Meanwhile, Örn (Atli Rafn Sigurdarson), an employee at a DNA-mapping lab, struggles with the death of his own daughter, who suffered from a brain tumor. In time, the two men's lives will intersect in a myriad of ways that neither can even begin to foresee -- and the motivation for Holberg's original crime will become resoundingly clear.

Director Baltasar Kormákur elegantly churns out a first-rate mystery by dressing it with organic cinematography and a score reminiscent of eerie Gregorian chants. But his best move is a focus on an unlikely secondary character - Iceland itself. He wisely employs this unique, almost otherworldly qualities of its setting--presented as both beautiful and threatening. The cinematography is simply stunning, truly enhancing the ambiance to an ominous storyline and landscape.

"Jar City" turns out to be intricate, haunting puzzle of motivations. The murder, of an old man named Holberg, opens up a nest of older crimes and brooding secrets. Erlendur finds himself investigating a possible rape from 30 years before and unraveling a tangled history of police corruption and petty brutality. What it all has to do with Holberg is no more clear to the audience than it is to the detective. But Erlendur's combination of bluntness and analytical acumen informs Mr. Kormákur's storytelling technique, making "Jar City" an unusually forceful and thought-provoking thriller. "Jar City" (or Mýrin), is adapted from Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason's 2000 best-seller, "Tainted Blood."