Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

ouren White Night Wedding directed by Baltasar Kormákur first and foremost should not be watched by someone who is depressed, as it portrays the dull meaningless life of Jón, who's selfishness kills his first wife, and stupidity leads him into a destined to fail marriage. There is little hope for the protagonist, and little hope for this movie brightening someones mood except for some beautiful shots of an Icelandic island.In contrast with Kormákur's film 101 Reykjavik, this movie portrays the city as positive and intelligent. We are introduced to the films main character, Jón, as he is teaching his college class. Reykjavik seems like a pleasant city where Jón can stay occupied, productive and happy. While the country-side, and island, where is wife, Anna, is from is a static, boring place, seemingly reminiscent of his relationship with his wife whom is mentally ill.The theme of the country vs. city is a common one among Icelandic film. This film seems to give a very negative and depressing portrayal of the countryside. The island can only be reached by boat and contains somewhere around ten houses and a church. There is a small community store, and it appears that viewers are introduced to at least half of the inhabitance of the island, of which ten percent might be crazy. This small island in the middle of nowhere makes Jón so bored, that he is convinced by one of his crazy/quirky friends that it's a good idea to invest, and try and build a golf course to bring tourists to the island. The only reasoning I can think for him to go along with this idea is at least it gave him something to do, just emphasizing how bored he is on this god forbidden island in the middle of nowhere. Once he realizes how ridiculous this idea is he acquires a large debt to the local store owners and in return starts doing their daughter, a former student, which brings me to the next topic of morality.In one of the scenes Jón is teaching the class about how things can be relatively right or relatively wrong in situations. An example of this might be it is morally OK to kill someone if it was in defense of your own life, but not morally OK if you had no reason to kill that person. He runs into his own moral dilemma when he get's caught cheating on his wife, by his wife, with a former student. Not to mention a girl twenty years younger than him. This is morally wrong on many levels, as he has a sick wife whom can't help her situation. Not only that, he is the only one who can stick with her and help her out, but he is so selfish that he decides to abandon her and the promises he made to her in order to indulge in a younger girl. Because his wife sees she has been abandoned, she abandons life, committing suicide in the open ocean. Maybe some part of Jón thought having sex was relatively morally OK because his wife was nuts and he didn't love her anymore, but that doesn't make you like this dismal protagonist anymore. Whatever his reasoning he begins to feel some regret after she kills herself. In an effort to make killing his wife relatively morally OK, he decides to marry Thora, because only him marrying his "True Love" would make her death a little bit OK, at least in his mind. Jón teaches others about morality, but either needs to listen too his teachings or uses it's relativity to make him feel better about his awful decisions, either way the anti-moral decisions from the film add to the films depressive outlook on life.Although the story itself is depressing it is very well filmed and edited. The most memorable piece of filmography for me is the beautiful shot of Jón as he is passed out on the table. The helicopter shot shows the beautiful landscape of Iceland and the quaint, BORING town. The town is as isolated as the main character himself capturing the emptiness of his life. AOverall the movie is well made with good cinematography, but the story itself is very dull and depressing. The film is consistent with other movies from Iceland at the time with the of the countryside vs. city, but gives a more bleak outlook on the conservative way of life. I would not recommend this movie for someone who would like to stay in or be put in a good mood, but if you want to watch an Icelandic film, apart from the story, this is well made with good acting and could be worth your time.

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.

Serina Robinson White Night Wedding is not your typical romantic comedy. Set on a scenic remote island off of Iceland, the movie does have some of the qualities expected in classic Hollywood fare, such as eccentric characters, passionate lovers, and a wildly dramatic wedding scene. However, unlike Hollywood, director Baltasar Kormákur chooses to realistically portray his characters, complete with the starkness of unhappy marriages, the skeletons of broken dreams, and an entire kaleidoscope of mental quirks which are near, in some cases, to insanity. The movie is loosely based on the play Ivanov, by Anton Chekhov, and as the movie unfolds, it becomes apparent that themes of debt and marrying for money, as well as the temptation of suicide, are carried over from Chekhov's work. The movie was critically acclaimed and won seven Edda awards in Iceland. It is no surprise White Night Wedding was so popular, as it's witty combination of love, despair, and lunacy are interwoven seamlessly on the breathtaking island of Flatey.Love abounds in the film, in all of its varying stages. Indeed, as the movie progresses, we see it take the shape of puppy love between soon-to-be newlyweds, guilt-ridden love between an aging couple, and despairing, persistent love between Anna and Jon. Rather than confine White Night Wedding to a single, stereotypical romance, Kormákur depicts human emotions as they truly are: wild and changing as the sea surrounding the island of Flatey. All emotional extremes are mapped throughout the plot of this movie. The audience is captivated and saddened by Anna's desperate, and increasingly manic attempts to cling to her distant husband, while at the same time allured by Thora's flirtatious behavior and equally shocked by the dramatic discovery of their affair. We are simultaneously immersed in the marriage of Thora's parents, Larus and Sisi, who each are so wounded and blinded that they cannot comfort or support each other. Sisi is brutally absorbed in money, so much that her loyal husband Larus is left uncomforted to nurse his own unfulfilled dreams of becoming a famous opera singer. Throw in an uptight hairless priest, an overweight jovial best man, Thora's introverted, irritable sister, and a scrappy delusional golf-course owner, and the plot has expanded to encompass a motley group of characters all in the never-ending search of love and happiness.Despair also plays a key role in the movie, as a stark contrast to the jovial celebration in preparation for the wedding. Frequent flashbacks to Jon's previous marriage with an unstable, and desperate wife blur the lines between present and past. Anna's depression and metal problems are constantly on the edge of the plot, and are depicted in the form of pill bottles and hysteria without a clear diagnosis. The pity we may feel for Jon coming home to a dead swan in the garbage and seaweed placed throughout the house is equally tempered by the sympathy we feel for Anna, who is abandoned and cheated on by her silent husband. It causes the audience to wonder where Anna's mental instability has come from. Is it possible Jon's neglect is the cause of her lunacy? We see a common theme of unrequited love surface. The more fervently Anna yearns for her husband to be present, physically and emotionally, the more he shuns her. As a final blow, after a failed attempt to seduce him to "roll in the grass naked" with her, she catches him doing exactly that with young, fierce Thora who is determined to marry Jon from the day she set eyes on him. Anna is driven to the depths of despair, and an ultimately tragic ending. The audience is left to wonder, will the same fate will someday befall Thora? Finally, the eccentricities of the characters are especially prominent. Much like a dysfunctional family, the inhabitants of Flatey all share a wild white night before the wedding - which may be an allusion to the odd behavior of the characters in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. While Anna is the only person who is clinically labeled as mentally unstable, all of the characters exhibit strange behavior at some point throughout the night. From Sjonni's drunken revelry to Larus's nude opera in the sea, the audience finds themselves personally intertwined in the odd lives of Flatey's inhabitants. Through exquisite filming technique that balances between wide sweeps of scenery and intimate close-ups, many of the scenes in the film attain a dream-like quality which leaves the audience unsure of reality. In this way, while depicting and creating flawed, and brutally realistic characters, Kormákur uses filming techniques to create varying tones of surreal passion, grief, and chaos. The traditional Icelandic folk music perfectly complements the landscape to portray Icelandic culture and set this film apart from the stereotypical romantic comedy. Indeed, the passionate nudity, harsh suicide, and extreme quirkiness of the film all are qualities often absent in Hollywood but is a hallmark of starkly realistic Nordic cinema.

troche-5 Director of 101 Reykjavik Kormákur wants you to think there will be dark nights and an expensive wedding by misleading you with the title. However there are no dark nights in this Icelandic setting only a married bachelor, a disgraceful golf course, and a money hungry ogre. This dramatic comedy hailed as the most popular Icelandic film of 2008 has the funny dysfunctional family of meet the fockers paired with the drama of a mid day soap opera. The setting of the movie takes place in beautiful Iceland which was settled by the Norwegians in the 9th century. It's a really interesting place for a setting because it always seems like its day time due to the plentiful amount of sunlight. This movie was filmed during the summer solstice where Iceland experiences 24 hours of sunlight or just every morning to get this affect. With that being said we get to experience both the city and country life in this movie. Kormákur takes an interesting approach simultaneously showing you the past/present throughout the movie as you get to know the goods about each character. For example we get glimpses of Jon teaching and walking the streets of Reykjavik which occurred earlier in time line. As we're taken back and forth we get to witness first hand the struggles Jon had with his traumatic marriage and how he struggles in the present days before his second marriage. Jon is a man full of problems because you soon find out that he is debt with the mother of his future wife and we get to see how the escalated situation got to this point. I've always enjoyed this approach because in my opinion it has helped me better understand the movie. These "flashbacks" serve as a reminder to me and help me follow the movie. Just like in the epic Fight Club, the past/present film technique really helps you understand the struggle Jon is having with himself and not his wives. I think its way to easy to label Jon as a bad a husband or a bad man but honestly I saw his actions as a warning. It's not like he tried to get his ex student to fall for him but with that being said he doesn't prevent it and that causes the whole mess. Jon is just a writer looking for inspiration and cant handle being both a husband and a writer; I think this movie is a perfect example of a man torn between his two loves; work and pleasure. Oh the golf course and how significant it is, in my opinion it is a huge factor that lead to the domino effect. It all starts with the move away from the city and when Jon feels he needs something to do up pops up the GOLF COURSE IDEA. This leads to the debt, enhances his marital problems, and possibly a second wife…..In conclusion White Night Wedding has imperfect characters in an imperfect world that everyone can relate too. With that being said I think Jon is just a guy who knows what his worth as a partner is and doesn't want to hurt anyone. He understands that he is not suitable for the life as a husband but more of a bachelor. In my eyes this movie was the story of George Clooney getting hustled into a marriage and what becomes of it. The fun is in the chase or being chased after.