No. 58. (2019) A White, White Day July 3rd.

Film No. 58 (2019) July 3rd.  6:45 PM  PALACE CINEMAS  Northbridge. 

Preview evening for The Scandinavian Film Festival presented by Palace Cinemas; Perth chapter July 17th till Aug. 7th.

"Provocative, raw, gruelling, brutal with love and trust as the underlying feature." (Promotional overview released by distributors).

This compelling Icelandic drama is the most intriguing film I've seen in 2019. The title comes from an Icelandic saying relating to days when one can't distinguish the sky from earth and the dead can speak. Sounds spooky but the film is about grief, the grief of Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurdsson) and the bad things that emotion can spark in a man. The opening ten minutes depicting a major car accident and then numerous static, still shots of a rural building standing stoically as every weather condition envelopes the surrounds in timelapse had me compelled immediately. We soon learn that the car accident took the life of Ingimundur's wife. This introspective policeman is raging internally with grief. His one saving grace is granddaughter Salka, brilliantly played by Ida Mekkin. But can Salka cure the concoction of jealousy and vengeance bubbling in someone she trusts in the purest sense? There is a whole lot more (the rolling rock scene) to White, White than the bare narrative. Like the drama series Trapped, the stark, cold landscape makes for a perfect backdrop to this powerhouse drama. 10GUMS.