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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable thriller with a completely foreign feel, May 19, 2011
This review is from: Jar City (Amazon Instant Video)
I don't remember how I stumbled across this movie, but I definitely give it two thumbs-up. The story isn't exactly ground-breaking, but the casting, acting, and cinematography are all top shelf. It's also refreshing to watch a movie where most of the actors look like actual people, as opposed to the plastic, air-brushed, bottle-dyed, perfect toothed crew we have shoved down our throats in this country. The lead character is no model of perfection and his family problems segue nicely into the main plot of the movie. If you like films like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Smilla's Sense of Snow, or the original Insomnia, you will like this movie.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting for its Rare, Icelandic Setting, January 11, 2009
As a murder mystery, this film is a little muddled. Even now, after having viewed most of the movie through twice, I'm still not sure that I completely understand the murderer's motive, or that I grasp the relationships of all the characters. Some of this confusion is compounded by an artsy time displacement probably inserted because someone just wanted to distinguish "Jar City" by making it less conventionally linear. I still recommend this movie though for its striking photography and for the rare chance it gives to see Icelandic settings and to get inside Icelandic society. This is probably a country most of us won't get to visit personally. So this might be the only time we'll hear the Icelandic language spoken - not quite modern German or any Scandinavian language. There are very readable subtitles though, which really aren't distracting. Then there's Iceland's landscape. There are the gleaming bare stretches of highway threading their way through the country's surprising watery tundra and wetlands. The aerial shots of these reminded me of U2's plaintive lyric, "You said you'd give me a highway with no one on it." There are the blocks of new apartment buildings, lit like prison tiers. There's a compelling juxtaposition of modern metallic with seascape wind-weathered. There are the insights into Iceland's different customs. We see the lead detective routinely ordering "goat's head" at the drive-through fast-food window. Everyone seems to enjoy grappling with big, sinewy chunks of meat in various contexts. Also, the characters' affect towards each other is a little different than our usual way of interacting. Finally, there's the eerie setting that gives the movie its title - the room containing the body parts of the deceased in jars - specimens kept row on row. It's reminiscent of the frightening behind-the-scenes collections kept at Chicago's Field Museum, as shown in movies such as "Mimic." All this really puts the "foreign" in foreign movie. There are no extras on this DVD - no commentary or deleted scenes. The disc is as spare as the Iceland moors. But the movie is enough. It will keep you watching, absorbed.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Just About as Good as it Gets, November 28, 2011
This review is from: Jar City (Amazon Instant Video)
This is about as clever a murder, mystery/thriller as I've ever seen. Here's the scoop. A young girl dies from a genetically contracted neuro-brain disease (I forget the name) and somehow her death is related to the murder of a man. The police in general, and one detective in particular, need to find the connection. This is a very complex story involving a wide cast of characters. The chief detective on the case is a rather surly individual. He's divorced and doesn't have the best relationship with his daughter who's a bit of a floozy and druggie. He's always dumping on his younger, hipper partner but doesn't really seem to mean it. It's like all he wants to do is bust his partner's onions. But those two and a third, female detective follow the clues and build the case. It takes them all over the place and puts them up against all manner of individuals from slimy ex-cops to prison inmates. But little by little things come together. I believe this is the first Icelandic movie I've ever seen and it's a doozy. It's set during the winter so I shivered pretty much throughout the entire flick. It looks and feels rather bleak. There are a lot of aerial shots showing various land and shore-scapes. A lot of flying over the cities and towns as well. All the characters, even the secondary ones, are well written and acted. But the real gem here is the script. It's just so well laid out. The way each item adds to the pile is clever. Things set up early on, that seem to have no relation to the case, start to fit in in a very satisfying way. I don't know if this is worth the five stars I gave it but I'd be hard pressed to see how it could have been done any better. If you're into mystery/thrillers this should do you good.
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