NZIFF 2019 A White, White Day

Directed by: Hlynur Pálmason

Evidence of a deceased wife’s affair tips a grieving ex-cop in remote Iceland over the edge, leading to a shocking spiral of events in search of the truth.

This gritty Icelandic drama captures the growing obsession of a widowed ex-cop (Ingvar Sigurðsson, in an award-winning performance recognised at Cannes Critics’ Week). Haunted by the tragedy of his wife’s death, Ingimundur seeks solace in the simplicity of DIY renovations, but his grief fuels a suspicious sense of betrayal when he stumbles across evidence of his deceased spouse’s infidelity. As his instincts to investigate and seek revenge take hold, the lawman begins to unravel.

“A taciturn former policeman in a small Icelandic enclave grows more complex before our eyes in the visually arresting and emotionally rewarding A White, White Day. Crusty widower Ingimundur… channels his grief into renovating a house whose isolated location shows off nature posing in a cycling-through-the-seasons medley of changing climate conditions in ever-exquisite light.

Ingimundur loved his late wife unconditionally and has little patience for the grief counselor he is obliged to see once a week. But while going through a box of his wife’s things, his cop instincts kick in and the already cranky man starts behaving erratically – although there’s definitely a startling method to his madness.

Writer-director Hlynur Pálmason (Locarno prize-winner Winter Brothers) delivers a leisurely but never boring tale of hidden feelings percolating in a splendidly varied landscape. From sharp straight cuts to uncomfortably long awkward moments, a perfectly controlled sense of place permeates every frame.” — Lisa Nesselson, Screendaily