Lachlan Coulson
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Kinley
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
m.p.
This has to be someone's nightmare version of a family reunion. What an ugly, repulsive bunch of human beings - and it's all daddy's fault!!! While I give credit to the actors, this just isn't my idea of entertainment. I'm a big DALLAS fan so I can certainly enjoy a classic dysfunctional family setting, but this was just sordid and nasty. I felt queasy at the end and was glad it was over. I also feel the beauty of Iceland was fleeting at best - instead we see the suffocating house scenes, the inside of the fishery, and the local pub with assorted barflies acting like barflies everywhere. And did I mention the bored sullen spoiled teenagers - apparently a universal affliction wherever you may go. These people are what remains of the mighty Viking race - Thor should put them all out of their misery with his mighty hammer!
tarchon
Reasonably well acted and written, and it had what I went to it for, namely Iceland, but otherwise it was the same old dysfunctional family melodrama I've seen 500 times before. It was occasionally interesting to note parallels to the old sagas - Icelandic writers seem to be constitutionally incapable of not referring to them, but I guess if you have a living 1000 year old literary tradition, you might as well use it.
If it was set in New York, I wouldn't have wasted my time on it though. If you've seen a lot of movies, you'll probably be thinking things like "not the freaking dinner-table meltdown scene again" as you watch it go through all the standard dysfunctional-family plot devices.
HoltJohnson
I saw Hafid (The Sea) during a visit to Iceland. The film screens once per day with English subtitles.Made me laugh. Made me cry. Sorry, always wanted to write that.The Sea was a step forward for the director, proving his ability to handle mature and nuanced themes.A wonderful narrative on small town life, the film also explores the darkness behind familial relations. But while the family's dirty laundry was being hung out to dry for all to see, the characters were at the same time treated with compassion.Too often in ensamble films, one or more of the characters comes off flat, and the audience grows bored when that character is on the screen. In The Sea, the director spun the individual stories together so well that the viewer could find a little bit of themselves in each character. Unlike most films, the director wasn't afraid to expose the flaws of each character. As a result, they were human. And while the tone of the picture was dark, it was also uplifting, hopeful.I also enjoyed the cinematography. And the way the town became more than a backdrop to the story, but an integral piece of the narrative. Sure, the town came across as desolate, depressing and sometimes just a God awful place to live. And the question becomes, are towns like this worth saving? Thankfully, the director left that up to the audience to decide for themselves, as the credits rolled.
zonik
This movie is one of the most original films from the arctic north in 2002. Baltasar Kormakur is a directing genious! Its actors are just so amazing and excellent. I just hope this movie goes all the way to be Oscar nominee as the best foreign film of the year.I gave it 9 out of 10. Should have been 10, but I have not given any movie 10, ... yet. I do believe this is the best film ever made in Iceland. And, being from Iceland, I am proud of this new masterpiece.
