Archive of films White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn

Iceland
2008, 94 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2009

Jón is about to marry his former student. Who or what is most likely to stand in his way? – his future mother-in-law, his drunken best man, or his own plans to build an island golf course? Will he make it to the altar? A volatile concoction of Northern melancholy and black humor, as interpreted by the director of Jar City (Crystal Globe at the 2007 KV IFF), is starting to simmer....

Synopsis

Jón’s first wife died tragically, and now the middle-aged teacher is planning to remarry – a former student who is half his age. Various circumstances prevent the wedding from going off without a hitch, and create numerous comic situations that serve to illustrate the many characters who swarm to a secluded island prior to the wedding. The nuptials aside, everything that happens leading up to the ceremony forces self-reflection and serious decision-making. This comedy with tragic accents, inspired by characters from Chekhov’s play Ivanov, also makes use of stock "wedding film” stereotypes. The action is seen from the male leads’ POVs, and the bonds between them help hold the film together. Taunting friends and squabbling partners provoke more laughter than apprehension, but the movie’s black humor clearly indicates that this is no idyll, marking it unmistakably as cinema of the North.

About the director

Baltasar Kormákur (b. 1966, Reykjavik) is an Icelandic theater and movie director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. After a decade of acting and directing for theater, in 2000 he wrote and directed 101 Reykjavik, creating Blueeyes Productions in the wake of its success. In 2001, Variety magazine dubbed him one of the "10 Directors To Watch”. The Sea (Hafiđ, 2002) and A Little Trip to Heaven (2005, starring Forest Whitaker and Julia Stiles) were screened at Karlovy Vary where Kormákur sat on the jury in 2003. In 2007, he won the Crystal Globe for Jar City (Mýrin), Iceland’s biggest box office success ever. Currently, Kormákur is finishing up an American production with the working title Run for Her Life.

Contacts

Icelandic Film Centre
Hverfisgata 54, 101, Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 562 3580
Fax: +354 562 7171
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.icelandicfilmcentre.is

Celluloid Dreams
2, rue Turgot, 75009, Paris
France
Tel: +33 149 700 370
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.celluloid-dreams.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Baltasar Kormákur
Screenplay:	Baltasar Kormákur, Ólafur Egill Egilsson
Dir. of Photography:	Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson
Music:	Sigurður Bjóla Garðarsson, Jón Ólafsson
Editor:	Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Producer:	Agnes Johanssen, Baltasar Kormákur
Production:	Blueeyes Productions
Cast:	Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Þröstur Leo Gunnarsson, Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir, Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir, Laufey Elíasdóttir
Contact:	Icelandic Film Centre, Celluloid Dreams

www:	www.blueeyes.is

Guests

Laufey Guðjónsdóttir

Film Institution Rep.