A White, White Day
| A White, White Day | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Icelandic | Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur |
| Directed by | Hlynur Pálmason |
| Written by | Hlynur Pálmason |
| Starring | Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir Hilmir Snær Guðnason Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir |
| Cinematography | Maria von Hausswolff |
| Edited by | Julius Krebs Damsbo |
| Music by | Edmund Finnis |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | Iceland |
| Language | Icelandic |
| Budget | $2.8 million[1] |
| Box office | $836,600[1] |
A White, White Day (Icelandic: Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur) is a 2019 Icelandic drama film directed by Hlynur Pálmason.[2] It premiered in the Critics' Week section at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2019. It won Best Film Award at the 2019 Torino Film Festival.[3] It was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[4]
Plot[edit]
Police chief Ingimundur, whose wife died in a car accident, reluctantly undergoes grief counselling. He works constantly on renovating a farm building for his daughter Elín's family, and sometimes looks after her daughter Salka.
After Elín gives him some of her mother's effects, he's shocked to find a video evidently recording an affair she had with a man called Olgeir Olafsson. He stakes out Olgeir's home and joins his football club. Bad weather closes the roads; while having a pixelated online therapy session, Ingimundur snaps and trashes the room, beating up two colleagues when they protest and locking them in the cells. Insulting his granddaughter Salka to get rid of her, he kidnaps Olgeir and takes him at gunpoint to a grave he's dug. He demands to know the truth about the affair, and what Olgeir thought of his wife. Olgeir obliges and Ingimundur yells in fury; Olgeir flees.
The next day Olgeir confronts and stabs Ingimundur, terrifying Salka. With a bleeding arm, Ingimundur carries the girl home through another white-out, apologising for being rude. Having finally acknowledged his grief and anger, he has a vision of his wife undressing and smiling at him as he weeps.[2]
Cast[edit]
- Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Ingimundur
- Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir[a] as Salka
- Hilmir Snær Guðnason as Olgeir
- Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir as Ingimundur's wife
Release[edit]
A White, White Day had its world premiere in the Critics' Week section at the Cannes Film Festival[8] on 16 May 2019.[9] It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2019.[10]
It was first theatrically released in Iceland on 6 September 2019[11] and on VOD by Film Movement Video[12] on 11 August 2020.[1]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
A White, White Day did not have a theatrical release in North America,[11] but grossed $836,600 in other territories, against a production budget of $2.8 million.[1]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A White, White Day plunges viewers into the darkness of grief and jealousy, led by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson's brilliantly layered performance."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised the film for its "startling aesthetic choices" and "enigmatic opening sequence."[15] Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the film 3 stars whilst positively highlighting leading man Sigurðsson. He also praised the ending with "such a devastating, powerful final shot that it alone erases most criticisms."[16] Variety praised the film's deliberate pacing that is preoccupied less with "ticking-clock storylines" but "slow cinema" often associated with foreign film directors outside the Hollywood bubble. It is described as "a terrifying, soul-rattling character study" which makes Pálmason one of "the most important voices of this emerging generation."[17]
See also[edit]
- List of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
- List of Icelandic submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ Real-life daughter of the director, Hlynur Pálmason.[5][6][7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur (2019)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ a b Vourlias, Christopher (6 July 2019). "Hlynur Palmason's 'A White, White Day' Sells to China, U.K." Variety. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ "Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur - Torino Film Festival". torinofilmfest.org. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ Sigríður Einarsdóttir, Gréta (25 September 2019). "A White, White Day Will Be Iceland's Submission to the Oscars". Iceland Review. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ Mitchell, Wendy (25 August 2023). "Hylnur Palmason on his Iceland-set Critics' Week selection 'A White, White Day'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "A White, White Day with writer-director Pálmason". Arkansas Online. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ McDonald, John (17 July 2020). "Film review: A White, White Day". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur A White, White Day | Un Jour si blanc". semainedelacritique.com. 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ Bałaga, Marta (16 May 2019). "Cannes 2019 Critics' Week. Review: A White, White Day". Cineuropa. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "A White, White Day - TIFF". tiff.net. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ a b "A White, White Day". Box Office Mojo. IMDbPro. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "A White, White Day - Film Movement". Film Movement. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "A White, White Day (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "A White, White Day Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (1 July 2020). "A White, White Day review – spiralling rage and stunning force". The Guardian.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian. "A White, White Day movie review (2020)". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (5 April 2020). "'A White, White Day': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
