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The Sea review
:. Director: Baltasar Kormákur
:. Starring: Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason
Running Time: 1:49
Country: Iceland
Year: 2002
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Shakespeare travels to Iceland to visit a particularly odious family in The Sea. More dark comedy than irrevocable tragedy, director Baltasar Kormakur's film takes a twisted look at how an old man beckons his unlikable children to divide up the family fishing empire.
The unforgiving, despotic Icelandic cold sets the scene for a family which is united by blood but not by love. As we meet the characters, heavy doses of rage, incest, jealousy and the battle for a profitable family business spill onto the screen. As harsh as their environment, feelings of warmth are soon extinguished by brutal gust of cold.
Last year's violent British film My Kingdom, starring Richard Harris in his last film role, also tackled the King Lear tale in modern times. Here King Lear is Thordur (Gunnar Eyjolfsson) the bitter family patriarch. He has requested his son Agust's (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) presence, whom he hopes will take over the family business. Agust has been in Paris the last several years using the business school money supplied by his father, the fishing kingpin of the village, to subsidize his love for music and is living with his pregnant French girlfriend (the sultry Hélène de Fougerolles). With little interest in his family and less in taking over the family trade, the two take off for a trip to Iceland.
His family could hardly be called lovable. His father is now married to his dead mother's sister and his cousin is suspiciously more like a sister. His siblings won't be up for any humanitarian prizes either. A history of abuse and humiliation quickly emerges in the dull gray climate. The physical desolation of the village perfectly parallels the unhappy desperation within the family that explodes into a burning (literally) rage.
While it's difficult to garner much sympathy for the family, there is an interesting cat and mouse between Thordur and Agust. On the one hand, Thordur represents an old school, one that refuses to modernize and recognizes the contribution of his workers in the family fortune. Agust, while gladly living off of the benefits, sees no real reason to give back. As in many dreary places in the world, those who can run away do so as quickly as possible. Even if he is unbearable, Thordur's situation is pathetic, for all that's been created will be lost to the monster of higher profits.
The exotic landscape of ice, snow and mountains contrasts greatly with the common vulgarity of the characters. From Thordur's crotchety mother to the drunken harlot of a wife of one of his sons, all of the actors keep it minimal. Small town life and its small town thrills, including a perverted cop, a roaming caribou and an Eminem-lookalike as a grandson reminds the audience that every place has its rednecks.
Kormakur's talent lies in creating an oppressive environment without going over the top. There are enough moments of humor to pace the film and keep it from leading to a wrist-slashing. At the same time, hopping on a flight to that godforsaken corner of the world probably won't be on anyone's list.
Anji Milanovic
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