Here is our review of A White, White Day – Secrets in the fog, winner of the Torino Film Festival and from 28 October in Italian cinemas
TITOLO ORIGINALE: White, white day. GENERE: Thriller / Drammatico. NAZIONE: Iceland / Denmark. REGIA: Hlynur Pálmason. CAST: Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Björn Ingi Hilmarsson. DURATION: 109 minutes. PRODUCION: Join Motion Pictures, Film in the West, Snowglobe, Hobab. ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Trent Film. USCITA: October 28, 2021.
Successful, but not quite. It could be summed up as A White, White Day – Secrets in the fog. The film, winner of the Turin Film Festival in 2019, will find its way to the cinemas of our country only the next one October 28. Fortunately, we were able to take a look at it preview and here is what you need to know, about this wonderful, elegant, Northern European masterpiece. But first, check out the trailer!
The plot | A White Review, White Day – Secrets in the fog
In a remote town of the freezing cold Iceland, Ingimundur (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) is a police chief on leave after the disappearance of his wife in an inexplicable road accident. When a box with some of the woman’s personal effects is found, the protagonist begins to suspect that she was cheating on him with a local man. Slowly the search for truth becomes obsession and inevitably man begins to endanger himself and his loved ones.
This opening is just a taste of what the film tells in its entirety. We see the complete transformation of a man, Ingimundur, into a copy of himself. The death of his wife, who, without spoiling, is masterfully rendered on screen, initially seems to have no effect on him. This situation changes radically as the minutes pass. The moment Ingimundur finds the box with his wife’s personal effects, the descent into the abyss seems inevitable.
A Nordic thriller | A White review, White Day – Secrets in the fog
Following the great Nordic tradition of thrillers, drama and thrillers, director and screenwriter Hlynur Pálmason does not betray expectations. Magnificent Iceland is painted as in the classics of the genre: cold, isolated, inhospitable. On top of that, it is also terribly white (as the title of the film suggests). The drama that takes place in the film is favored by the context in which it takes place. Starting from the fatal accident of Ingimundur’s wife, to the research conducted by the latter to find out more, passing through the desolation of the house under reconstruction, another true protagonist of the film.
If there are no big surprises in terms of the settings and the atmosphere, fortunately there is film script running to our aid. The long silences, fundamental in such a film, are interrupted by often short but sharp dialogues, which go straight to the point or that result in physical or verbal violence. Pálmason was good at keeping us in suspense for the duration of the film, perhaps sinning only on the end, resolving an excellent story in a hasty and unsatisfactory way.
Evocative scenes, but not always | A White Review, White Day – Secrets in the fog
The direction it’s a real one little gem in some moments. The first 5 minutes, for example, are (almost) a masterpiece. In general, the whole first part travels on a very high level, and then watering in half. The film begins not to move from the usual few palettes and the usual shots, focusing on the advancement of the main story. Fortunately, the narrative climax corresponds to a return to the highest levels of directing. Pálmason gives us single shots but also whole scenes that are unique, but unfortunately he concentrates them at both ends of the film. Most of these qualitatively excellent scenes are also a lot evocative, as they tell much more than what they show. The actual conclusion, for example, is indecipherable, if you do not take a step beyond what we see on the screen.
Conclusions
Basically, A White, White Day – Secrets in the Fog is a very interesting film, which deserves the view. It would have been right that it had made its cinema debut in our country two years ago, when it was first shown to the public. Pálmason’s film is a great thriller, as it continues to divert the viewer’s attention from the direction the plot is taking, but it is also one great dramatic story. We are shown the transformation of a man in the process of accepting pain and truth. We are also shown the beautiful relationship between the protagonist and his granddaughter, which seems to be the one between two equals. Unfortunately, the film it does not differ too much from what is expected from any Nordic film as far as theatmosphere and settings. In addition, the direction, although unique and grandiose in some places, is repetitive and does not add much to the final product.
A (almost completely) successful thriller
Points in favor
- Great script
- Direction (at times) incredible
Points against
- It does not differ from classic Northern European films
- Direction (mostly) not original
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