User Reviews

Inspector Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson) has to investigate a "messy and pointless" murder. A dirty old man has had his head bashed in in his flat. "Typical Icelandic", he thinks.

Iceland just touches the Arctic circle. It's a long way from anywhere else. It is grey and gritty, spectacular and melancholy, buffeted by blasts of wind, snow and steam. Against this background Erlendur doggedly untangles the connections and the crimes of the past, digging up corpses and secrets shameful or tragic. Landscape and society alike are revealed and commented on, drily and laconically.

Being based on a novel by Iceland's most successful crime writer, the characters are as well known to the home audience as Rebus, for instance, is in Britain, and carry enough of the baggage of real life to make them credible and sympathetic. There are visual themes of burials and exhumations, post-mortems, pathology labs and fast food, and a sound track of male voices shading into electronic moans and growls, which in turn dissolve into the wind. It's a very well-constructed package, which is thought provoking, gruesome, touching and funny, and it's certainly worth seeing.

In my opinion it's a pretty good movie based on the fact it's from Iceland and we are unfortunately not know for our talent in the movie industry. Even thought I'm not too pleased with the casting of the main character, Erlendur, who does not look a thing like the character in the book the movie is based on, It's not too bad at all. The performance of Erlendur's daughter Eva Lind, played by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, I must say it's was quite a shock how well she did. But here back in Iceland she is know for here TV-show where she is a diva called Sivía Nótt whom a lot of us aren't to keen on but I think it's just an Icelandic humor that not everybody gets. I do recommend this movie. It's not for the fragile sort of people. And since it's a typical Icelandic movie there are a lot of harsh words and it's a bit rough. I apologize for my spelling and hope you enjoy this movie. Thanks =)

This is an Icelandic movie about a murder, the only clue to which is a picture of a headstone of a five year old girl that died 30 years ago. In parallel to that, there is also a story of a genetic researcher whose four year old daughter has just died. How do these stories tie together? That is what makes the movie so intriguing. The story structure is such that the lead detective, Erlunder (played compellingly by Ingvar E. Sigurðsson), must investigate a crime from 30 years ago in order to solve the murder he's got on his hands now. Surprisingly, this is done with a bare minimum of flashbacks (I counted two), neither of which are to the original girl's death. The director, Baltasar Kormákur, sets a dreary tone using a muted color palette and wide shots of bleak terrain surrounding the city. The stark architecture only adds to this feeling of despair. A side story of Erlendur's relationship with his drug addicted daughter adds depth to the overall story by fleshing out the point of view character. This is by no means an amazing film, but it is very good. The supporting characters don't stand out much, but rather seem to be foils for Erlendur to play off of. This was apparently based on one of a series of crime novels and I'd be very interested to see adaptations of the others if the story quality is as consistent as this one.

This is a well made, enjoyable crime thriller that manages to sustain tension and interest throughout its run time and marries this with some well handled comic moments. The main character, Erlunder, is a multi-layered and believable, ageing, seen-it-all-before cop, while the scenes involving discovery of dead bodies are skin-crawlingly well acted and nauseously realistic.

However, given the kind of budgets and talent available to producers of TV crime series these days, Jar City suffers from the fact that the plot really could form an episode of CSI:Rejkjavik or, dare I say it Taggart (a old British crime series). There are no huge surprises or twists in the tail - it is, essentially, a standard, old fashioned who/why dunnit.

However, what sets Jar City apart from CSI and its ilk is the cinematography. Obviously I've seen images of Iceland before - but I've never seen it captured in such a bleak, but beautiful fashion. Iceland itself is centrally important to the character of this film (and might even be said to be one of the characters) and its strangely picturesque scenery and, in some cases, downright weirdness, make Jar City worth watching just for this alone.

In 2000, Iceland's now-defunct Decode Genetics was one of the first companies to try and mine the genetic information of an entire population; so it's maybe not too surprising to find an Icelandic thriller that turns on the patterns of the inheritance of disease. 'Jar City' also emits a strong feeling of the country's extraordinary geography, and of the reserved, defensive natures of a people who live in such a harsh environment. What it doesn't do so successfully is work as a thriller; Ingvar Sigurthsson's gruff leading detective is little more than gruff, and no-one seems to have wholly sufficient motivation to explain their behaviours. For all the striking scenery, this isn't a tourist authority's view of the country; but it's unwelcoming feel is a little off-putting, even to viewers with no intention of leaving their seats.

It has been a long time since I have been to Iceland, and I spent most of my time on the Eastern part of the island. I remember it as beautiful, and this film certainly displays that.

Besides the cinematography, the music is equally outstanding and certainly adds to the mood of the film.

Erlender (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) is tapped to solve an old man's death, and finds a connection to an old cold case. Shades of Lenny Briscoe, he is trying to solve both cases while dealing with a junkie daughter, whom every scumbag seems to know intimately.

Family secrets, a genetic disease, and dirty cops all add up to an interesting tale of crime.

I went to the premiere of Mýrin (Jar City) last night, the much awaited movie based on the novel by Arnaldur Indriðason. Having read the book, a lot of effort went into analyzing how it played out on the screen. And on that front, there are no complaints. I thought that the feeling of the novel shone throughout the film and the necessary plot changes were clever and executed perfectly.

A friend of mine who also went to the premiere, without first reading the novel, was also impressed and found it compelling and exciting.

The actors delivered their role nicely, especially Ingvar Örn Sigurðsson and the comedy relief Björn Hlynur Haraldsson. Gone is the annoying habit of acting as if you were on stage when on screen, that has troubled Icelandic filmmakers in the past.

The music is brilliant, both Mugison's theme music as well as the powerful opening and closing scenes with the Reykjavík Police Choir.

Having had high expectations for this film I'm very impressed. 9 out of 10. Keep up the good work, Baltasar Kormákur, there are many more novels by Arnaldur that would fit the silver screen.

Is this a homicide detective or a bespectacled primary school teacher i see before me in that thick wool knit jumper? With his frumpy dumpy side kick. Who looks like she might have knitted the jumper for him. Turns out he – Erlendur – (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson) is no pussy though. Hard as a bag of hammers with his glasses off.

What more can you want? Murder "thriller" set in chilly Iceland. Usually I don't do crime capers. But gets a vigorous nod of interest simply for being set in Sigur Rosland. Merely point the camera at all that moody isolation and bleak melancholy – and you've got wild and windy (and woolly) scenarios immediately on tap. Elemental my dear Watson.

A choiry backing track gets a bit annoying piping off a portentous kind of churchy religiosity.

Understanding information-ladened subplots while reading subtitles is tricky/tiring/tiresome.

In the end this is standard issue telly crime, the kind of police procedural that rolls out the ITV pop-slot ad-nausem at 9 o'clock (although this was shown on BBC 4, the go-to channel for miserable subtitled Scandinavian crime drama)

Mind you, Inspector Frost wouldn't tuck into a plate of singed sheep's head for his supper (while reading a bit of Bible) But this is Iceland after all – the land of ice and idiosyncrasy.

If you like your crime thrillers with imagination,good directing & superb acting, then 'Myrin' is for you. This Scandanavian cold case cop thriller concerns a police officer who is on a 30 year-old murder case involving the death of a 5 year old girl,while also trying to solve a more recent murder most foul. The officer is also trying to balance all of this while dealing with his own drug addicted daughter who is always trying to cage money off of her dad. Along the way, we are treated to some of Iceland's slimy criminal underworld (including those on the police force). I really admired the photography,which balances some rather bleak,wintry scenes,balanced with the rugged beauty of the Icelandic countryside (the use of muted colour really works for the tone of this rather bleak,pessimistic film). The film also makes good use of some black humour. As this film has no U.S. distribution,it will be a bit of a chore finding a cinema that screens quality films like this. No MPAA rating, but would most likely land an 'R', for every possible reason (raunchy language,violence,some of it pretty bloody & gory,and some very adult situations). Leave the small fry's home for this one (it would probably freak them out,anyway)

I have read most of Arnaldur Indridason's novels about Erlendur's murder investigations in Iceland. I didn't read them in sequence: I read Jar City after reading the novels, Silence of the Grave, Voices, The Draining Lake and Arctic Chill. I loved Silence of the Grave and Arctic Chill, but didn't seem to get into his first novel (Jar City). But this book was well adapted to the big screen.

All the characters were as I had imagined them to be. The landscape and background was all there: bleak and featureless; cold and windswept.

But the music was a little off-putting: the music seemed to remind me of old Gothic horror movies.

7/10

Jar City is an excellent police procedural thriller, yet also far more than just that. It takes the biggest issues in human life, loss, past secrets, family loyalties, human decency and wasted lives and spins them into a flawless thread with the traditional fare of the detective plot, hidden crimes, corruption, suspense and plot twists.

The filming style is refreshing for anyone raised on Hollywood who-dunnit's, with real locations and down to earth acting; on a par with Mississippi Burning IMO. That it's in Icelandic as an English speaker made no difference to me, I was gripped by this film. Jar City, the frailty of human life displayed!

This film is pretty complex and has a rather confusing storyline. It engages the past with the present, and there are two parallel narratives. At first the timing of both narratives is unclear, but the flashbacks are noticeably of the past. That was the main issue I had with the film. But the end ties everything together and only in the second half will you begin to understand what is really going on. It is also complex in that it deals with some of the more complicating aspects of human nature - family, love, lust, and death.

However the film does do a good job of creating a mystery, which makes it a pretty good crime film. It seems like the clues they find don't really lead anywhere, but bit by bit the pieces start to fit together and each clue leads to the next. The film feels slow and stagnant at times but is pretty enjoyable.

The acting is also pretty good, though of course there is the cultural difference to consider with regards to the characters. Though they can be related to come characters from the normal western detective film, the characters do have a sense of locality. The film introduces quite a lot of characters, but we do not get to know them in depth. For the sake of this show however it works, as the story is rather complex and needs to establish relations between many characters.

The overall mood of the film is pretty heavy, and it seems like something bad might happen any second. It gives an eerie feel at times, and the vast landscape shots hint at isolation and despair.

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Balthasar Kormakur's last movie, "Myrin", was made into a bestselling novel in Iceland. In short a time, Myrin was called to mind the best movie of Iceland with effect of the novel. Myrin has no difference than alike movies, despite of being a dark movie which is well-casted and directed. Especially being given messages by the director in the final is very cliché and this banal final chapter doesn't fit with this movie. Finally, Myrin doesn't tell about a new story in genre, which calls "Crime", and there is no need for the same old song: Good cop and bad cop.

Myrin begins the story with finding a corpse in an apartment which was built on marsh. Detective Erlandur, who has a daughter is pregnant and a junkie, tries to take up curtain of mist on the case. When Erlandur investigates the case deeply, he finds out roots of the story. Essentially the story grounds on very old. In the movie, there is another story in parallel with this story. In another story, Örn loses his little daughter for an implacable illness. Common points among stories are associated by Erlandur. In conclusion, it comes into the tragic picture.

Actually Myrin shows it which is interested in under the iceberg from the beginning. Every minute the story, which has no surprise, comes to a true picture and reminds the viewer of corrosion. When Erlandur resolves problems, marsh remembered by the story like an apartment where was built on a marsh. Basically people go to the bottom each day. Moreover a degeneration and a corrosion are becoming commonplace. We discover these marshes, which were inside people, with Erlandur. If the director just chose to tell a crime story, it would be OK, but he tries to criticize people. At this point, the director loses the control and departs from movie's subject. Maybe critical messages and dramatic structure both are compatible in the book; however, in the movie these two sides are not compatible. An icon of father, who realized a degeneration after committing crimes by co-workers and discovered own estrangement after all of these facts, is an acquaintance and a cliché.

Myrin doesn't tell a new story, also it has no different expression way. Nonetheless, the director shows own talent with background of the movie. An excellent background is created by the director. He highlights the dark side of the story with color selection, light using and filter preference. He relates the story in its entirety with Grey and several shades of Grey. He is promoted about visuality, despite of having some problems about storytelling. As a result, Myrin doesn't stick out in the genre, but it can be good choice to kill time.

Written by Baris Saydam (BuRnOut_TR)

Unremittingly depressing Icelandic crime story, everything about it is miserable, the palette of colours, the settings, the scenery, the people, the food – definitely not sponsored by the Iceland Tourist Board. Jar City makes 'Wallander' (the Swedish version) look like Miami Vice – not a Faroe Island jumper in sight. The plot follows Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson's hard-bitten cop Erlendur on a murder investigation that leads into the past. There are good performances here and solid direction by Baltasar Kormákur, who has just completed 'Contraband' (as of late 2011), directing Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Beckinsale.

There are some mechanical difficulties, like certain sections of flashback which are hard to pick up because there is no visual distinction between with the main action, and the subtitles are too fast in places with no obvious reason. But if you like your cops gritty, your stories grimy and your locations grey and inhospitable then you will probably enjoy this. Ultimately it is in the same territory as the likes of 'Spiral' and 'The Killing', and the story perhaps suffers a bit from not having the same amount of time as these for the viewer to become immersed in the detail, but Jar City is a good film and well worth the rental if you are looking for a gloomy thriller.

Baltasar Kormákur was there to answer questions at the first screening of this excellent film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2007. He did a terrific job, both of directing the film and of untangling some of the details for us after the screening.

This was a film that we picked up at the last minute, to see on the first day of the festival. We went in with absolutely no expectations and were thrilled to find one of the best films of the festival laid out before us.

Everything about this film was outstanding: casting, sets and locations, acting, directing, and the subtitling was unobtrusive but effective. It has a wonderful black humour to it in spots, too. No wonder Iceland has chosen this film as its Oscar contender.

I know I'll see this film again! Not only that, but I've ordered all of the books in the series by Arnaldur Idridason that I could find in translation, because I found his story so compelling and want to read the further adventures of Detective Erlendur. I sincerely hope Kormákur directs more of them.

Having read all of Arnaldur Indriðason's novels, I was very pleased when I heard that Baltasar Kormákur was planning to make this film. The press immediately started a sort of a Scarlett O'Hara search, in terms of finding an actor capable of portraying detective inspector Erlendur. When Ingvar Sigurðsson was finally chosen, I must admit that I wasn't that keen, as I felt that he was not at all the right type. Having seen the film now I must admit that I need not have worried. Ingvar Sigurðsson's portrayal of Erlendur is first class throughout, both the bitter and tender aspects of that complex character. All the cast is indeed great, most notable though Atli Rafn Sigurðsson as the grieving father, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir as Eva Lind, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson and Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir, as Erlendur's associates Sigurður Óli and Elínborg, and Theódór Júlíusson as the veteran hooligan Elliði. The cinematography is the best I've seen in any Icelandic film, the editing "par excellence", and the music extremely powerful. One has to give credit to the Reykjavik Police Choir, for the excellent singing. This is a film that everyone has to see, and I'm quite certain that it will scoop up quite a few awards at various film festivals. Keep on at it Baltasar. And hopefully you will bring other novels by Arnaldur Indriðason, such as Grafarþögn and Röddin to the silver screen.

An intelligent, engaging, multi-layered storyline that blends strained family relations, unsolved murders, and infuses some Icelandic customs keeping the viewer captivated from beginning to end. Despite the lack of shock value, the film maintains a consistent sense of suspense throughout. "Jar City" is chilly and cerebral, but also morbidly and powerfully alive.

In 1974, a young Icelandic girl dies at the hands of a murderer, and the crime was never solved. In present day, the aged and exhausted detective Erlendur begins to investigate a link between that notorious unsolved crime, and the unrelated homicide of a local criminal years after the fact. Erlendur has a difficult private life, his wife has passed away, and he has a pregnant daughter Eva Lind (Agusta Eva Erlendsdottir) who is a drug addict and roams the streets.

Meanwhile, Örn (Atli Rafn Sigurdarson), an employee at a DNA-mapping lab, struggles with the death of his own daughter, who suffered from a brain tumor. In time, the two men's lives will intersect in a myriad of ways that neither can even begin to foresee -- and the motivation for Holberg's original crime will become resoundingly clear.

Director Baltasar Kormákur elegantly churns out a first-rate mystery by dressing it with organic cinematography and a score reminiscent of eerie Gregorian chants. But his best move is a focus on an unlikely secondary character - Iceland itself. He wisely employs this unique, almost otherworldly qualities of its setting--presented as both beautiful and threatening. The cinematography is simply stunning, truly enhancing the ambiance to an ominous storyline and landscape.

"Jar City" turns out to be intricate, haunting puzzle of motivations. The murder, of an old man named Holberg, opens up a nest of older crimes and brooding secrets. Erlendur finds himself investigating a possible rape from 30 years before and unraveling a tangled history of police corruption and petty brutality. What it all has to do with Holberg is no more clear to the audience than it is to the detective. But Erlendur's combination of bluntness and analytical acumen informs Mr. Kormákur's storytelling technique, making "Jar City" an unusually forceful and thought-provoking thriller. "Jar City" (or Mýrin), is adapted from Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason's 2000 best-seller, "Tainted Blood."

My perception of this movie is that it is essentially a feature length pilot episode for a TV series. It reminds me particularly of the British remake of the TV series Wallander, starring Kenneth Brannagh. People interviewed by the police are hardy, and often as bitter as the weather, the lead investigator has huge family problems, investigations invariably lead to cruelties of the distant past, and the plotting is labyrinthine with strange occurrences and subplots making sense only at the end. Both have excellent cinematography. Indeed the plotting of Jar City is extraordinarily reminiscent of many standard UK or US crime series. Effectively you could take the plots of any of the episodes of Touch of Frost and transplant them on top of the bleak locale in this movie and have an effective sequel.

The script couldn't be more obviously from the cookie cutter if it was star-shaped and had sprinkles; it contains even the most familiar of motifs, such as the folly of the lead investigator going to the local prison to interview a manipulative and dangerous psychopath, who inevitably explodes at the end of the interview. I'm absolutely convinced that this is scones and jam for many folk, but I feel it needs pointing out to people like myself who do not go to the cinema to watch televisually-crafted entertainment.

What I felt a keen lack of was message. Jar City takes as its theme the genetic studies in Iceland. Icelanders in genetic terms have remained largely isolated from the outside world, presenting a great opportunity for scientists to study their genetics. Lots of information concerning the heredity of the population has been kept, and many genetic diseases unique to Iceland can be traced effectively in a population that has refrained from interbreeding, and is remarkably genetically homogeneous (it's like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle of the London underground map, instead of a jigsaw puzzle of a field of daisies). A company called deCODE genetics attempted to set up a database carrying all the genetic and hereditary information for the entire population of Iceland. Due to privacy concerns this project was terminated, and at the end of last year deCODE genetics went bankrupt in Iceland. The episode is a rich topic for debate. But in this movie genetics and medical science are not there for education's sake, they're there for weird atmosphere.

For "gross out" fans, Jar City offers interest, it's a grisly movie, there's often a morbid focus on food to accompany events, for example a coroner who eats lunch between incisions. The most queasy part for me was when Inspector Erlendur devours a sheep's head, obtained strangely enough from a drive through. Unfortunately the gross out content occasionally became farcical; the movie attempts the rather delicate task of mixing the grisly with the sentimental, and ended up providing unintentional humour towards the end. This is the equivalent, in cinematic terms, of attempting to prepare fugu, if you're not well-qualified, deft of hand and sharp of eye, you poison the client. This rather novice director should have lowered the tariff on his performance.

I walked out of this dour overcast movie feeling rather bad about myself and about life in general. Not one to see alone on a bad day.

Based on a novel by Arnaldur Indriðason Jar City is a very effective crime thriller to come Iceland. With it's grim direction, complex characters and unflinching realism it was an excellent little film in a 90 minute package.

Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurðsson) is a senior police officer from Reykjavík, assigned to investigate the murder of an elderly man Horland (Þorsteinn Gunnarsson), leading him onto a trail of rape, organised crime, murder and police corruption in rural Iceland. Erlendur to has to deal with his drug addicted daughter, Eva (Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir), who is knocked-up and in trouble with local gangsters. At the same time a genetic researcher Örn (Atli Rafn Sigurðsson), suffering from grief of the death of his young daughter researches the family trees of people to find the source of the genetic disorder that killed her.

Under the direction of Baltasar Kormákur, Jar City is a dark complex film with a multi-layered plot. Throughout the film Kormakur keeps a sombre tone, using natural light whenever possible and used the baron landscape of Iceland to great effect. Kormakur when he needed to slow the film down to allow the actors to show their characters and speed up the investigation when he needs to. He keeps the film feeling natural, looking at tragedy like the death of a child in a sensitive and sad manner. The film was realistic, with neither heroes or villains being typical characters and Kormakur does not cut any corners, like a chase in a swamp. He uses hand-held cameras and an operatic score to add to his emotional power of the film.

With Indriðason writing the script Kormakur make a tort film, fitting a complex plot effectively in a short running time. Admittedly some of the subplots seems to be shorten, with Örn's investigation being overlooked but we still get to see the buck of the story.

There is also excellent performances in the film, with Ingvar E. Sigurðsson particularly worthy of note in the lead role, playing a skilled investigator with a lot of personal baggage, suffering from moments of kindness and ruthlessness. Atli Rafn Sigurðsson too was very good, and had a touching scene early in the film with his dying daughter. Erlendsdóttir also gave a grounded performance as a woman trying fight a drug addiction and reconnect her father.

A very worthy film, great for anyone who loves crimes thrillers.

I really like this movie. I have only read one of the novels by Arnaldur Indriðason, Dauðarósir(Dead roses), not Mýrin, but I think that did not lessen the experience. This is among the better Icelandic movies I've seen. Ingvar E. Sigurðsson and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson offered excellent acting. The directing was very good, and I'e heard from my brother, who read the book, that it was delivered very well onto the screen. The plot line was also very good. Realistic and very exciting.

Baltasar Kormákur made a very successful movie, and I encourage anyone who can to watch it. 9/10.

This movie is made of great acting, charachters and story. Even though most of the film is talking it is fast paced and never loses it's steam. What I loved the most is that it's unpretentious and unpathetic. A bit morbid story is filled with subtle humor and quirky, loveable charachters. I would definetely recommend it to anyone who loves a good crime story. Since I'm from Croatia I was not too familiar with Icelandic cinema but after watching this movie I will definetly look a bit more into it.