THE SEA
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur.
Produced by: Jean-François Fonlupt & Kormákur.
Written by: Baltasar Kormákur & Olafur Haukur Símonarson, based on his play.
Director of Photography: Jean-Louis Vialard.
Edited by: Valdís Óskarsdóttir.
Music by: Jón Ásgeirsson.
Released by: Palm Pictures.
Country of Origin: Iceland/France/Norway. 109 min. Rated: R.
With: Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Hilmir Snær Guonason & Guorún Gísladóttir.
DVD Features: Director's Commentary. "Itchy Palms" Music Video. English Subtitles. Previews. Trailer. Web Sites.

In this operatic King Lear set in a remote Icelandic village, an ailing patriarch (Eyjólfsson), summons his adult children back home to set his house in order. After spending the inheritance from their mother's estate, all three siblings want the father to sell his fish processing plant, the town's lifeline. They assume the profit will be theirs. The eldest son, Haraldur, tries to please his father by keeping the plant financially afloat while his avaricious wife, the sluttish Áslaug, secretly forges her father-in-law's home mortgage. The favorite son, Águst, relunctantly returns from France along with his pregnant girlfriend. Also arriving is the angry prodigal daughter Ragnheidur (an incendiary Gísladóttir), who was sexually abused as a teenager and blamed for it by her father. The confrontational family dinner features archetypes that would have been at home on Dallas: there's the angry cousin María staring daggers into Águst, whom she's loves; Áslaug, sauntering about in a leopard print blouse and garish purple lipstick; and the vitriolic Ragnheidur spewing venom at everyone. Dark comic relief is provided by the cranky grandmother, "People who don't eat whale meat don't deserve to live." It is their sense of humor that prevents these angry characters from becoming repellant. However, after the father's proclamation, the mood further darkens as a winter storm brews, followed by scheming and recriminations. This clearly told convoluted saga of a larger-than-life misanthropic family remains compelling; one explosive secret after another is revealed. But because of the Sturn und Drang, The Sea can't help but be emotionally overwrought.

Extras: The congenial commentary will mostly appeal to the film's fans. Kormákur offers an explanation of the fishing quota system, part of the film's plot, and acerbic takes on Icelandic life. KT
October 14, 2003