Reykjavik-Rotterdam (2008)

Christopher is having money problems; much of what he owns was given to him by his friend Steingrímur; his wife Iris jokes that he even got her the same way! With the landlord threatening to evict him from his home he agrees to Steingrímur suggestion that he return to his old smuggling ways and bring a consignment of vodka from The Netherlands; Steingrímur will fund the operation and they will split the profits fifty-fifty. While Christopher sails for Rotterdam a drug dealer and his thugs start intimidating his wife for reasons that aren't immediately obvious. Aboard ship he and his shipmates work out where they will hide all the vodka so that the captain won't find it. Meanwhile another crewmate finds where he has hidden the money. After arriving in Rotterdam the lack of money could prove a problem but their contact forces Christopher and a friend to help them with an art heist as payment. As they return to Iceland it becomes obvious that Steingrímur isn't the friend Christopher thought he was. When he gets back he will have problems with the police, the drug dealer and Steingrímur.When I picked this film on DVD I knew nothing about it; the blurb on the box made it look interesting and I didn't have any Icelandic films in my collection so I bought it… I'm pleased that I did. The story is interesting with some fine action as well as a surprising amount of comedy. This comedy is unforced; based entirely on amusing incidents rather than silliness or comic dialogue. The cast do an impressive job; especially Baltasar Kormákur who gives a standout performance as Christopher; also notable are Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Steingrímur and Lilja Nótt Þórarinsdóttir as Iris. The action is good without being over the top; I particularly liked when the ship arrived in Rotterdam and it looked as if it wasn't going to stop in time and the art heist scene. As the film approaches its conclusion the tension rises nicely and for a while it looks as if a key character is dead. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody looking for something a little different.

2012:Reading reviews about the 2012 Action movie Contraband,I was surprised to find out that the flick was a remake of a 2008 Nordic Noir title.Taking a look for the film,I was disappointed to find no English Subtitles DVD edition around.December 2015:With Christmas coming up in a few days I decided to go to a £1 shop to pick up some last items,and I was surprised to find dozens of DVDs of the original Contraband!,which led to me deciding that it was finally time to purchase some contraband.The plot:Getting out of jail after once again being caught selling black market alcohol, Kristófer promises his wife Íris and their kids that he will "go straight" in his new job as a security guard.A few days into his new job, Kristófer gets a call from Íris's brother Arnór,who tells Kristófer that underworld gangsters are after him,after he dumped a load of black market booze in the ocean,over fears that the cops were about to sniff it out.Despite being desperate to stay on the path, Kristófer cuts a deal with the gangsters,which will involve him joining Arnór to keep the next batch safe.Meeting with old friend Steingrímur, (who continues to secretly love Íris) Kristófer gets the chance to join Arnór on the boat.As Kristófer sets off for the contraband, Steingrímur sets off for Íris.View on the film:For Kristofer's failed attempt to go straight,co-writer/(along with Arnaldur Indriðason) director Óskar Jónasson & cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson soak the film in light Nordic Noir blues which stylishly reveals Kristófer's blue collar roots.Sticking Kristófer on a ship for a good part of the film, Jónasson hits the sea with an anxious mood,as brilliantly held corner shots unlock the limited locations Kristofer has to hide the contraband and his murky Film Noir past.Kept to a lean 83 minute running time, (25 minutes shorter than the remake) the screenplay by Jónasson & Arnaldur Indriðason (who is also a superb Nordic Noir novelist) smartly keeps things evenly split between Kristófer and Íris,which creates an excellent friction in how they address enter the crime underworld,with Kristófer's desperate attempt to keep one foot in his family life being neatly counted by Íris unknowingly taking the rest of the family deeper into the ruthless Nordic Noir world. Delivering a somewhat up-beat ending which thankfully keeps the contraband out of the most lawful hands,the writers give Kristófer and Íris a fantastic kick into the Film Noir darkness,as Kristófer starts to fear that Íris life is about to become contraband.Going on to direct the US remake, Baltasar Kormákur gives a great performance as Kristófer,thanks to Kormákur's firmly gripping Kristófer's humble roots whilst also bringing his sharp Film Noir loner skills back out of the shadows.As Kristófer tries to keep his dealings undercover,the very pretty Lilja Nótt Þórarinsdóttir gives Íris a sweet relaxed charm which becomes brittle,as Íris and the rest of the family find their hands covered in Kristófer's contraband.

Reykavik-Rotterdam has its moments, and lead actor Baltasar Kormákur does a pretty good job of maintaining a continuity through the film ... but, to be honest, there's not a lot that's extraordinary here. There's virtually nothing new to this one; it's a rework of ex-con trying to make ends meet and being reeled back into crime, with the kicker of having to help a dumb brother-in-law who's in over his head. Then you have the scheming business owner looking to cut in on the ex- con's lady, and manipulating others to take the ex-con out of her life. (Sound like something you've seen before?) Frankly, Warner Brothers started making this film over-and-over with the birth of the talkies, and the only new angle is containerized shipping as the backdrop and cellphone ringtones as embedded clues.The cast is certainly fine, but they don't have much to work with as far as their characters. You don't get a sense of anything beyond a bunch of low-lifes aspiring to nothing more than than the continuation of their low-lifedom. And the comedic bits are somewhat shoehorned in for quick and unsatisfying relief -- except for the goofball gangster sequence in Rotterdam, which really didn't last long enough.It's not a bad movie at all, but it's not something that bears repeat viewing ... it's a spot of entertainment, but wound up in rather tired film clichés. And it's nowhere near the level of an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film.

I'm not going to spoil anything. So I won't go into any details about the story. I hate when people do that.Here we have an Icelandic thriller that kept you excited right from the beginning to the very end. I absolutely loved the story, it was fresh and original and distinctively better than most Icelandic films that have tried to depict the dark side of Reykjavík (Iceland's capital). Looking back at films made over 10 years ago, such as "Nei er ekkert svar", it's simply astounding to see how far Icelandic film making has come. This really is an A-level action thriller which I found to be more entertaining than most movies in the similar genre I've seen during the past months. I think the director did an excellent job and Baltasar Kormákur should seriously consider acting more alongside directing because he shows and proves it beyond any doubt that he is one of Iceland's greatest actors. Iceland could of course use more actors because you kind of see the same faces over and over again, every time a film is made. However, when a film is as well casted as this one, one forgets that very quickly. All characters had found their way to just the right people. I must give kudos to Baltasar, Lilja, Ingvar, Þröstur, Ólafur, Jörundur, Victor... Jeez, just all of you. Thank you for a superb film.Highly recommended, see it as soon as possible.