Zoooma Icelandic film that would appear to be your typical romantic comedy judging by the movie poster. There's a whole lot more happening than the goofy mess that can be found in the U.S. theaters almost every weekend. This is art house goodness in almost every sense. What a beautiful, unique location this takes place in: a small, car-less island just off the coast of Iceland. A man is about to marry a woman half his age and has flashbacks to his previous wife and what happened in that marriage in the year leading up to this wedding. There are so many emotions going through several of these characters. The story almost seamlessly flips back and forth between past and present. Blink and you might miss which time frame it's in. A pretty interesting story that so easily helps establish the fact that foreign (to me) cinema is often much better than typical American trash! (Oh, and there's a great joke included about big burger butt Americans! Haaa!!!)7.1 / 10 stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

Hannah Lee Olson In the film White Night Wedding, directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur, the idea of true happiness and love in marriage is depicted as impossible to attain. Yet the promise of a new beginning seems to always be in the near horizon. The opening scene reveals a marriage rehearsal between a middle-aged and pessimist professor, Jon, and a fairly young and former student to Jon, Thora. It is clear within the first scene that Jon is not thrilled to marry Thora. Jon's unenthusiastic demeanor and narcissistic personality is portrayed throughout the entire movie, which result in loveless marriages. The film frequently flashes back to Jon's previous marriage with his former wife, Anna. The couple moves to the beautiful and isolated town in western Iceland, Flatley, Breioafjorou in hopes of reviving their dwindling marriage. Jon and Anna's marriage had been suffering because Anna had a mental illness. Not many details are given as to how her illness occurred but it is clear that her mental episodes severely impacted Jon's attraction and love for Anna. When the struggling couple moves to Flatley, Jon makes a business deal with, the parents of Thora, Sisi and Larus. The business plan was to open a golf course that stretched across the town in rather inconvenient locations. The golf course is poorly executed and which results in Jon accumulating an insane amount of debt. In the midst of this ridiculous golf course investment, Jon and Anna continue to grow further apart. Jon starts to become annoyed by Anna's creative and insane nature. He then develops an attraction for Thora, which results in a heated affair. Anna finds out about the affair and has a mental breakdown that ultimately puts an end to their life together.Though the end of Jon's previous marriage is tragic and the beginning of his current one seems like a hopeless case, there is a dark comedic element to the film. I think this element is shown in the supporting roles and their pathetic nature. For example, Jon's best man, Borker, is an incredibly oblivious and clueless man who only makes Jon's life more difficult. In fact, it is ironic that Borker is Jon's best man as the golf course was his foolish idea that led to Jon's falling out between Thora's parents. Additionally, I think Jon's friend, Sjonni, brings a comedic element, as he is a complete drunk who spends half the movie trying to find his clothing. I found it rather comedic that a professor would have these kinds of friends and would want an alcoholic as an organist and a loon as a best man. It also showed how little Jon cared about the wedding and the haphazard nature of Jon's relationships outside of his marriage.As I mentioned before there are flashbacks that show Jon's past relationship with Anna intermediately between Jon and Thora's wedding. There were several cinematic techniques that were used to emphasize this contrast. For example, when there were flashbacks the lighting changed to a duller yellowish/sepia tint whereas the present showed colors that were bright and clear. I felt like this contrast emphasized Jon's perspective and how he felt bored and trapped with Anna but had hope for his future with Thora. The director also used a lot of natural light which emphasized Jon's perspective. For example, on the night before Jon's marriage, the sun never goes down and Jon continues to talk about new beginnings. It looks almost as if Jon can live in this timeless capsule where the day never ends nor begins. However, this timeless and hopeful imagery is shortly shattered in the flash forward to Thora and Jon's actual marriage; which ends up being just as boring and loveless as his previous one. Along with contrasts in lighting there is also a contrast between rural and urban setting as the characters move between both sceneries. The city is shown as slightly cramped and congested and the rural setting is isolated, picturesque, and spacious. I feel that these settings impacted Jon's attitude in various ways. For example, when Jon was in the city he appeared level headed with some deeper knowledge about the world, but while in the rural setting Jon's emotions fluctuate frequently and he has no real reason to his actions. Overall I felt like the main character had a narcissistic personality and a stuck up demeanor when approaching his relationships. This aspect of the movie definitely detracted me from enjoying the film. That being said, I did appreciate the comedic effect the movie had despite the dark subjects of adultery, mental illness, and loveless marriages. I would recommend this movie for anyone who enjoys dark humor, outrageous characters, and tragic drama.

jeremy3 After seeing this film, I wanted to see it again. The characters were so complicated. There was the middle aged professor, who had grown weary of his mentally ill wife and had fallen for a young student of his. There was his friend, a big oaf and church organist, who had never found true love in his life. There was the repressed priest, who was a step away from realizing that he had found the wrong calling. There were the future in-laws. The father of the bride is a working man, who has the voice of Luciano Pavrotti, and regrets he never tried to be a great tenor. There is the cynical and jealous mother of the bride, whose main reason for hating her future son-in-law is that he never has repaid a debt that he owes.This is all on an island in northern Iceland. It is a small island where everyone knows everyone else's dirty laundry, yet somehow fools still believe that they can hide their lives. There are the tourists from all over, who come to this island where there is basically nothing. Still, to scare up tourism, the locals foolishly believe that they can advertise the place as a tourist mecca. The groom and his childhood friend dream of the money that they will make when they build their golf course (basically, teeing off from the a rock out in the water).The movie is sad. The professor groom really hurt his wife, driving her to suicide by bringing his bride to be to the island for a wedding. In his perverse guilt, the groom believes that somehow he will bring peace over his adultery and abandonment of his wife. While not as good as The Sea, this is still a delightful movie that is filled with good witticism.

natzel White Night Wedding leaves the audiences' minds spinning as we witness a wedding gone completely array. Baltasar Kormakur writes twisted story painted on the canvas of beautiful Iceland in complete juxtaposition to his first popular film 101 Reykjavik. As the movie unravels we witness the life of a middle aged professor, Jon, as he recovers from the suicide of his first wife and learns to accept a commitment to his second wife. In interview, Kormakur states that theme of the movie is the search for happiness, which is mixed with a few twists, turns and road blocks. Even against the odds, Jon finds his happiness as the audience enjoys Kormakur's sense of humor along the way. This movie offers moments of laughter but also leaves the audience guessing at what will happen next. We, as viewers, are drawn in by the music and the beautiful landscape and at the same time, put off, by suicide and debt issues that are intertwined into a cinematic masterpiece.Nature evokes a great deal of emotion in this film and the symbolisms that accompany it are difficult to ignore. The first encounter the audience has with the drama surrounding nature is when Anna, Jon's first wife, strikes a swan with her car. We are met with the vivid image of crimson blood on white feathers. Shortly thereafter, the couple moves back to Anna's home town which is a small but charming island. Here, Anna's deep connection with nature comes alive. Though it is clear she is mentally unstable there is something charming about her devotion for nature. She tends to the sea like her garden when she creates a web of seaweed. In addition to Anna's devotion to nature, Kormakur frequently uses aerial shots of the island. Through these shots the audience is able to view the exquisite serenity of the Icelandic land.Other themes emerge throughout the film, such as the theme of infectious mental illness. We can see Anna's mental illness and how it leaches into the lives of others. Anna forces Jon to leave his position of professor because she longs to be home. After moving back to her home island she loses trust in Jon, and any love left in their marriage slowly fades. After Anna encounters Jon during a sexual affair with a previous student, Þóra, her depression worsens and she is driven to suicide. Jon, wears the weight of her suicide around like a heavy cloak. Though, his affair did not help his wife's depression, he blames himself fully for her death and repeatedly says that he killed her. This notion that he was responsible for sucking the life from Anna, is the barrier that stand between him and his love for Þóra. This debt that he feels to his deceased wife is not relieved until he flings himself into the sea where she committed suicide. Jon's debt does not end there however.Jon is also a debtor in the monetary sense. When Jon returns to the Iceland for his second marriage to Þóra he is sought out by his friends and family who hound him for money. We encounter his soon to be mother in law, shortly after arriving to the island. Immediately upon meeting her we can see that she is not pleased with his past actions. In fact he owes her a great deal of money for a golf course plan run amok. His mother doesn't trust his intentions with her daughter and is so hung up on his debt she can't see the devotion between Þóra and Jon. Nevertheless, this is not his only debt owed on the island. The morning of his wedding, Jon is awoken by breaking glass as golf balls are flung through his window. Börkur, an angry friend of Jon's is also here to collect a debt owed to him. From every angle, Jon is bombarded by his debts and his sins which again do not appear to be reconciled until his plunge in the ocean.Quite possibly my favorite theme in the movie, is that of music. Music seems to permeate all areas of this film. The first experience we have with music being performed in the film is through the musical talent of Anna. Anna requests that a piano be sent to her island home. Later it is during times of turmoil that we see her passionately playing. Other characters are deeply involved in music also. Lárus, the soon to be father in law of Jon sings beautiful opera throughout the film. My favorite scene is most definitely his early morning dip where he awakens the inhabitants of the island with is booming operatic voice.There is also a great deal of parallel between the "old" life of Jon with his deceased wife and his new life with Þóra. About half of the movie is made up of flashbacks, these flash backs are presumably the memories of Jon. At times it is difficult to differentiate between the present and the past. This is done to portray the stark difference between Anna and Þóra and the difference between past unhappiness and current happiness. This is enforced by the dreary and dark weather of past scenes compared with the bright scenes of the present. At the same time this is in contrast with the static portrayal of the island and its people. The audience can see that life for Jon changes dramatically while the small sleepy town remains consistent and folksy. This theme of rural life is a common theme in many Icelandic films.In conclusion Kormakur puts on a great show. Though this film is not similar to his past success, 101 Reykjavik, it holds its own position in his collection of films. The message of a search for happiness is theme that most can relate with. Along with this the audience enjoys the gorgeous nature in the film and beautiful music. All elements in combination make a quite striking film.