I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a serious fun political and social satire. I only wish I were Icelandic, because I would have been rolling on the floor. On a reality based level, this movie is about a dysfunctional family. The patriarch of the family is an "old school" Icelander trying to run a fishery (while writing his memoirs). He is stoic and practical to a "t". He alienates the younger generation by being totally about the fishery and how it is supposed to be for the good of the community - a small town in Iceland. The son has spent years of schooling in France and has returned home for the holidays (and because he is broke). As one elderly woman in the family quips 'All that education to the younger generation, and what good does it do?'.The women in the movie are supposed to be the submissive females of the Icelandic society, but they are anything but. The women in the family are aggressive, greedy, and downright crazy. The only one with any sense is the Mother and the Grandmother. The Grandmother is the wise matriarch, who knows everything about everything and lives life like an elderly George Burns (whiskey, cigarettes, etc.).There are also funny minor characters. The youngest son is the teenager. He is totally the opposite of what you would expect in Iceland. He is the white hip hopper/rapper, who only wants American cheeseburgers, fries, and to play video games. The modern Icelander has outsiders - Asians, blacks, etc. They are tolerated, but the Icelanders still stick around with their own. There is also the town policeman, who is so disrespected that his only authority left is to arrest the local ram sheep.The movie comes to a fore when the children are all arguing over who will inherit the fishery. They even plot to get their father committed. In the end the factory burns down, and everyone's dreams and schemes come to a crash. I think that a deeper level this movie is a brilliant satire of Iceland in the early 21st Century. You may not know Icelandic, but the English subtitles are enough to understand and laugh about this brilliant satirical comedy.

Though the setting is Icelandic, the themes of this familial drama are universal. An aging fishing mogul invites his estranged children home and all hell breaks loose as dark family secrets are revealed and the future of the family and community at large is decided. While there is something to despise in every character (except for perhaps the French girlfriend of the youngest son trapped in the fray) the viewer is left feeling sympathy for almost everyone when all the family feels in the end is apathy for each other. The director seems to be saying that may be the greatest tragedy of all. Dark humor and small glimmers of hope (some family members escape to new lives abroad and the community seems to survive the meltdown and trudges forward) keep the film from becoming too depressing. A beautiful music score and some nice cinematography highlight the often bleak Icelandic landscape. Great direction and powerhouse performances from the international cast help the film soar to operatic heights. A must see for any fan of familial dramas.Also recommended: "Angels and Insects" and "American Beauty."

This movie is one of the most original films from the arctic north in 2002. Baltasar Kormakur is a directing genious! Its actors are just so amazing and excellent. I just hope this movie goes all the way to be Oscar nominee as the best foreign film of the year.I gave it 9 out of 10. Should have been 10, but I have not given any movie 10, ... yet. I do believe this is the best film ever made in Iceland. And, being from Iceland, I am proud of this new masterpiece.

When I saw this film for the first and last time, I found it to be one of the worst films that I've seen from Scandinavia. Of course I am not saying that this is THE WORST movie to be exported from our Nordic cousins, but because I found it to be so pretentious. Every single one of the cast members were trying to pronounce Icelandic as clearly as they could and they felt that every single facial expression had to be expressed to the fullest. Hence, leaving the performance to be flat and flamboyant.Not to mention that director Baltasar Kormákur is a total egotist and apparently he was more conscious of letting everyone know that he directed this instead of actually directing this film (his credit appears 3 times as the director).However this film does project a dark image over rural-Iceland and it examines the Icelandic fishing industry as the same source of corruption as the family as both suffered and witnessed. This MELODRAMA tries to fit into the footsteps of the Danish film "Festen" but fails because you feel like you are watching a knock off of the Danish masterpiece. Kormákur generalizes the Icelandic family and portrays it as grimm trolls lurking from the mountains in the dark.May I suggest to Icelandic filmmakers and actors to act like you are not acting and that directors should at least make an effort to direct instead of telling everyone that he is directing it.The only one who deserves any praise in this movie is Film editor Valdís Óskarsdóttir, who coincidently edited Festem and must of felt just like home during the making of this excuse of a movie.