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A White, White Day film image; man carrying a young girl in his arms

A White, White Day

Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur

Festival Preludes

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In preparation for Hlynur Pálmason’s new film, The Love That Remains, showing in VIFF, check out his impressive second film, an intense psychological drama (showing in tandem with his follow up, the epic Godland).

Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurðsson, deeply unsettling) is a former police chief in an isolated Icelandic community tormented by his wife’s car-accident death. As he sublimates his anguish by pointlessly renovating his home, that torment evolves into suspicion that she was cheating on him with a younger colleague. And that suspicion, in turn, evolves into obsession…

Pálmason has the rare ability to evoke the psychological by finding objective correlatives in his mise en scène, whether its by showing Ingimundur inadvertently frightening his granddaughter with a morbid fairy tale, or his acting out his grief and suspicion by overaggressive play on the sporting pitch. Pálmason’s control and unnerving insight are really something to marvel at.

Visually arresting and emotionally rewarding… Ingimundur is a fascinating character, splendidly portrayed.

Lisa Nesselson, Screen

Brings to mind a cinematic version of Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream…. Bracing… grimly hypnotic… powerful and freshly thought out.

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

Director

Hlynur Pálmason

Cast

Ingvar Sigurðsson, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Ingi Hilmarsson, Elma Stefanía Ágústsdóttir, Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir

Credits
Country of Origin

Iceland/Denmark/Sweden

Year

2019

Language

In Icelandic with English subtitles

19+
109 min

Book Tickets

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Credits

Executive Producer

Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, Hlynur Pálmason, Ingvar Sigurdsson

Producer

Anton Máni Svansson

Screenwriter

Hlynur Pálmason

Cinematography

Maria von Hausswolff

Editor

Julius Krebs Damsbo

Original Music

Edmund Finnis

Production Design

Hulda Helgadóttir

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