An insurance investigator travels to a God-forsaken small town in northern Minnesota to look into the violent death of a man whose life insurance policy would radically change the life of the deceased’s sister. A chilling Icelandic film noir by Baltasar Kormákur, with a Hollywood star cast reminiscent of the cult film by the Coen brothers, Fargo.
Baltasar Kormákur’s previous films – the black comedy 101 Reykjavik and the drama The Sea – were set in his native Iceland and described intense relationships within the family. For his latest film Kormákur set off for the United States with a story of criminal intrigue, filmed in English with American actors. This psychological drama about greed and guilt has a chillingly depressive ambience which looks towards the modern form of film noir in the style of Fargo (1996) by the Coen brothers. The hero of the story is insurance investigator Holt who travels to a God-forsaken small town somewhere in northern Minnesota to look into the violent death of a man whose life insurance policy would secure a million for his family. Isold, the deceased’s sister, and her husband Fred, certainly do not appear blameless: their past hides all sorts of surprises – and what about the present?
89 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Baltasar Kormákur
/ Screenplay Baltasar Kormákur
/ Dir. of Photography Óttar Gudnasson
/ Music Mugison
/ Editor Virginia Katz, Richard Pearson
/ Producer Baltasar Kormákur, Sigurjón Sighvatsson
/ Production Little Trip ehf.
/ Cast Forest Whitaker, Julia Stiles, Jeremy Renner, Peter Coyote, Philip Jackson
/ Contact Icelandic Film Centre, Katapult Film Sales
Baltasar Kormákur (b. 1966, Reykjavik) during the 1990s earned a reputation as a respected Icelandic stage actor and director. He became internationally known for his roles in films by his compatriot, director Fridrik Thór Fridriksson, Devil’s Island (Djoflaeyjan, 1996) and Angels of the Universe (Englar alheimsins, 1999). As a director, screenwriter and producer he debuted with an adaptation of the novel by Hallgrímur Helgason 101 Reykjavik (2000), which won him the Young Jury Prize at the Locarno IFF, the FIPRESCI prize at the IFF in Thessaloniki and the New Discovery Award (ex aequo) at the Toronto IFF. He was a member of the Jury at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2003, where his drama The Sea (Hafíd, 2002), which he also wrote, directed and produced, was screened in the Horizons section. The film won the FIPRESCI prize at the Istanbul IFF and five Icelandic Edda awards.
Icelandic Film Centre
Hverfisgata 54, 101, Reykjavik
Iceland
Phone: +354 562 3580
Fax: +354 562 7171
E-mail: [email protected]
Katapult Film Sales
155 N. Anita Ave, CA 90049, Los Angeles
United States of America
Phone: +1 310 440 3494
Fax: +1 310 440 9565
E-mail: [email protected]
Fleur Winters
Sales Agent
Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdoóttir
Thomas Mai
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