Product Details

• Actors: Dominique Abel; Bruno Romy; Fiona Gordon
• Directors: Dominique Abel; Bruno Romy; Fiona Gordon
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES
• DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000SAGGMS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,302 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "L' Iceberg" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A delightful romantic fable, L'Iceberg begins when Fiona, the manager of a Belgian fast-food restaurant, is trapped in the restaurant's freezer. When she emerges, she discovers her husband and two children never knew she was gone. Now obsessed about cold, she climbs into the back of a refrigerated truck. When, after a few adventures, she ends up in a small French port, Fiona realizes she could actually go to the iceberg she's been dreaming of with the aid of a sailor who can't speak or hear. The whimsical plot is only a small part of this movie's charm. L'Iceberg is largely a collection of linked physical comedy routines, performed with the physical deftness of Jacques Tati (Mr. Hulot's Holiday, Playtime) and the offbeat pacing of Aki Kaurismaki (The Man Without a Past, Leningrad Cowboys Go America). The actors who play the leads--Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, and Philippe Martz--all come from circus backgrounds, and each brings a unique personality to their particular flavor of understated slapstick (Gordon comes across like the love child of Buster Keaton and Tilda Swinton). L'Iceberg will appeal to fans of Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind) for its loopy sweetness and fans of Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise, Dead Man) for its deadpan cinematic style. A genuinely charming and unique movie; the dvd features some entertaining production notes, but regrettably does not include the award-winning short films Gordon and Abel made previously. Bring on the Criterion edition! --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

84 minutes, color, French w/English subtitles DVD Bonus Features:
* Filmmakers' Production Notes and Biographies .

Fiona is the manager of a fast-food restaurant. She lives comfortably with her family in the suburbs. In other words, Fiona is happy. Until the day she accidentally gets locked into a walk-in freezer. She escapes the next morning, half frozen and barely alive, only to realize that her husband and two children didn't even notice she was missing. But when Fiona develops an obsession for everything cold and icy - snow, polar bears, refrigerators, icebergs - she drops everything, climbs into a frozen goods delivery truck and leaves home. For a real iceberg.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, charming gem of a film!, October 29, 2007

By	D. Ausdal "euro cinephile" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is Belgian film (so the comments about the French and Jerry Lewis are not only tired, but also not applicable) that combines clown/mime-like physical comedy and stylized set design in style reminiscent of Jacques Tati. The pace of the movie may be on the slow side for those accustomed to nothing but Hollywood fare, but this is by no means your stereotypical self-indulgent European art house cinema. The performances are great (especially that of the lead actress who won an audience award in Seattle) and if you like movies that show you something different, you'll love this one. It's almost like a comic version of "Open Water" (without the sharks) in the way it explores relationships.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Curl up with a hot chocolate and enjoy!, November 24, 2007

By	Ainsel (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Great situational comedy/drama! This is only the 2nd French movie I've seen (the 1st being Amelie) and I liked this one too. Every frame felt natural rather than staged, even though the actions and characterizations were deliberately exaggerated.

Nothing seemed overly long or pointlessly drawn out, although I do see one reviewer's point: if you prefer action movies, or quicker TV-type pacing, perhaps this won't be so hot for you. I don't mind slower pacing if it's well thought out. Each pause or drawing out was purposeful, and made the next action more meaningful, infusing much of the movie with anticipation if not suspense. The sets were perfect, giving enough for the characters to work with but not distracting. It's believable and touching.

It's often difficult to gauge the possible MPA (Motion Picture Association of America) rating equivalent of a Not Rated film. To cover all possible viewers who may not like to be surprised, I warn you that there is some brief casual nudity in the film. Thinking of things besides the nudity that could be awkward to explain to or watch with a kid, consider the complicated interpersonal relationships and the mother leaving her family for awhile to pursue her dream. You know how mature your family is; I would give this at least a PG-13 rating if not R. It's more enjoyable to watch a movie like this if you fully understand and appreciate what's going on in the movie, and I don't think I'd have 'gotten' a lot of this when I was younger.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one-of-a-kind surrealisic comedy, June 18, 2008

By	Roland E. Zwick (Valencia, Ca USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Belgian comedy, "L'Iceberg," is such a head-scratching little oddity that it is virtually impossible to describe it for anyone who hasn`t already seen it. It's a highly stylized tale of a young restaurant manager who decides to break away from her stultifying and humdrum existence after she inadvertently locks herself in a freezer overnight - only to discover, once she gets out, that her husband and their two carbon-copy young children have failed to notice her absence. Realizing her utter insignificance to those around her, Fiona strikes out on her own, abandoning her job and staying away from home for long stretches of time - eventually setting out to sea with a mysterious deaf/mute sailor she meets along the way.

Utilizing concepts straight out of the Theater of the Absurd, "L'Iceberg" pokes fun at the sterility of modern life, as Fiona finally breaks free of the bonds of domesticity and goes on a quest for love and adventure. Directors Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (who play the husband and wife in the film) have composed their film almost entirely of straight-on block shots, perfect for emphasizing the surreal spareness of the drama and setting. The lanky, bug-eyed Gordon, who looks for all the world like a cross between Frances McDormand and a stringy-haired Olive Oyl, plays Fiona with a mouth-breathing, deadpanned seriousness that enhances our empathy for the character and heightens the satirical nature of the piece.

Original in concept and bold in execution, "L'Iceberg" is irrepressibly imaginative and visually inventive in its cockeyed portrayal of the world around us.