User reviews

"Woman at war" it is a story about strong female who trying to do all she can, at any price, in order to save her homeland ecosystem. She is in partisan war against big technological giant who pollute her land. I give my salute and an applause to Halldóra Geirharðsdótti for her amazing performance both twins sisters Halla and Asa. The way how Halldóra run on Icelandic mounts and survice in wild nature would make to envy every single trail runner in the world together with Bear Grylls. Of course Cinematograph - Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson. The camera of this man shows magnificent landscapes of Iceland. I know it was shown many times ago in many movies. But in "Woman at the war" we don't see warm and green Iceland, as well as cold and snow land of Vikings. No we see foggy and grey tons, but this fact doesn't bring shade to Mr. Björgúlfsson work. Because the weather and colors of nature represent mood of protagonist. If you look at main banner of this film you may find hidden symbol. Treble clef. Because music is playing very important, or even A Key role in the movie. When Halla takes an actions and fights against police, government and spies systems we can hear\see her feelings & mood "in hands" of Icelandic music trio (Drumms\Sousaphone\Pianist &accordion). When, suddenly, in her life appears a hope, that somewhere in Ukraine there is a small girl (Nika) who lost her parents, at the war, from that moment, every single thought of Nika create for Halla a group of three Ukrainian choir singers. During all actions and all circumstances main heroine participate in, we see those 6 musicians represents different sides, and always split. But only at the end, we saw all of them standing together, when Halla and Nika finally met. I think these unity of different music styles together shows that Halla has finally find a peace in her life. This movie have everything. Good Acting performance. Great - cinematography. An Amazing music. Without any doubts - One of the best movies of 2018.

Halla (played by Halldora Geirhardsdottir), a middle-aged Icelandic woman leading a seemingly ordinary life, is secretly a fierce eco-warrior. Staying completely off the radar, she conducts lone daring missions of sabotage against a big industrial plant that is endangering the environment of her region and her entire country. Her weapons of choice are small-scale explosives, and bow and arrows. The bare bones of this plot sound like just the sort of thing for a Hollywood action film, but Woman at War is stylistically so different, so NOT Hollywood that it inhabits practically a different universe. And it's all the better for that. We care about what's going on on the screen, and about the protagonist Halla, far more here than we ever would for things like Mission Impossible or Fast and Furious or the Bond films or a dozen other franchises like them which are basically just eye candy.

There actually aren't that many true 'action' scenes: most of the screen time is devoted to interactions among the relatively small cast of characters, and some slow-burn suspense. Will Halla keep successfully evading the authorities who are ramping up their search for the saboteur? After all, Iceland is a pretty small country. Her motivation for what she's doing also would not cut very deep unless we had a well rounded picture of her life and the deep connection of her fellow Icelanders with their own land. Her sister Asa (played by the same actress -- and the scenes where Asa and Halla are both on screen are seamlessly done) comes in and out of the story, as does cousin Sveinbjorn (Johann Sigurdarson), a farmer who helps Halla at critical moments. Halla is thrown a major curve when her hoped-for chance to adopt a little orphan girl from Eastern Europe come up suddenly: does she change the course of her life to take it, or let it go and continue her profoundly risky guerilla war? There are also genuinely surprising twists -- essentially bits of luck and timing -- that make us realize that every bit of the backstory and setup in the first half of the movie was put there for a reason.

There are loads of engaging details from beginning to end. In one scene Halla is being hunted by a police drone seeking for her in the countryside near the industrial plant. She shoots it down with her bow and arrow and then stomps it to pieces. (Who wouldn't like to do that with those annoying things, just once?) The oddest touch of all, though, has to do with the music. The edgy background music is played by a small band of musicians who are sometimes actually on screen, standing just to the side of the action -- on roadsides, on city streets, by airport parking lots. Their onscreen presence usually takes place at critical junction points in the story. This eccentric touch takes a further step into the truly surreal when at times Halla actually notices them (!) as if she has stepped outside her own role.

All in all, it's very much worth seeing. A whole lot of Hollywood studio suits who are only after your money could learn from far more genuine films like this one.

"Woman At War" (2018 release from Iceland; 104 min.) brings the story of Halla. As the movie opens, Halla in sabotaging the power lines nearby a Rio Tinte plant somewhere in Iceland, causing an overall power outage. The police are out looking for the perpetrator, and she manages to evade the police chopper, but just barely. Meanwhile back in her regular life, she is a community choir director. Then one day, she receives a letter that her adoption request from 4 years ago, finally has been approved: a little girl from Ukraine awaits her! But how can she reconcile this with her environmental activism? At this point we are less that 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from writer-producer-director Benedikt Erlingsson. Here he brings us a playful yet intense comedy-drama involving an environmental activist who, in her mind, MUST make a stand against heavy industry that is committing crimes against humanity (in her mind). But what is it really? Environmental sabotage? or extremism? The movie benefits enormously from the charismatic lead performance of Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, in a dual role as both Halla and her (twin?) sister Asa. Also playing major character is the Icelandic outdoors, where much of the movie takes place. Definitely on my bucket list to visit one day! And then there is the music: the score plays out live on the screen, as in: the Icelandic band and the Ukraine choir are integral part of the movie. Very clever. The movie takes some unexpected turns in the last half hour, increasing the level of enjoyment even more. Just a few months ago, it was announced that Hollywood is going to remake this (starring Jodie Foster). Of course!

"Woman At War" premiered to great acclaim at last year's Cannes film festival, and finally made it to my art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend. I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this turned out to be a private screening, as I was literally the only person in the theater. A darn shame, if you ask me. This is a top-notch foreign comedy-drama that met and exceeded my already high expectations. I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

This movie could have been very preachy. It deals with a middle-aged woman who is very concerned about the effects of industry on the Icelandic environment and decides to take a very active role in opposing it, sabotaging efforts to create a new aluminum processing plant. All very PC.

But it is the form that makes this movie truly exceptional, not to mention fun and fascinating to watch. It is full of imaginative touches that seem to come out of nowhere and that capture your attention and admiration.

The acting is fine, and some of the countryside shots are wonderful, but it's not a scenic tour of Iceland. Rather, it's a remarkably create take on what could have been a very dull topic.

While the narrative may not physically reflect the lengths most of us would go to, it certainly promotes the psyche that anyone with a shimmer of a conscious about the ecosystems of the earth would or should feel. Enjoy it for what it is, a fight against the forces that see profit above people and the planet, twinned with a sweet and sentimental heart driven right through its centre.

A bold, quirky & engrossing effort that examines the uphill battle it is for anyone who dares stepping up against corporations & governments to save the planet, Woman at War expertly balances crowd-pleasing obligations with credible environmental concerns to make its plea for actions against climate change without ever sounding preachy to the viewers, and is all the more uplifted by Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir's stellar lead act.

I really liked this quirky Icelandic eco-thriller about a woman that goes to great lengths to do what she thinks is right for her country. But to try and categorize this movie is a bit tricky, as this reminded me more of Roy Andersson movies than Soylent Green, with a lot of surrealistic moments like a band that provides the movie's soundtrack but is an integral part of the action and, for better or worse, is one of the most unforgettable aspects of this film. It is generally well shot and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir provides a great performance in the titular role.

A virtuous man alone against the system, there has been a lot on the silver screen, particularly when it comes to American movies where the figure of the individual hero is set, in accordance with the American ethos, as the paramount role model. From early cinema till today, examples abound, among the most seminal "The Life of Emile Zola", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Setup", "Harvey Milk" come to mind, but they are but a few samples of a practically endless list. By contrast, their female equivalents can be counted on the fingers of one hand: women fighting alone like Sally Field ("Norma Rae") or Julia Roberts ("Erin Brokovich") are the exceptions that prove the rule. But, well, The Times Are-A-Changin', as Bob Dylan once sang and are slowly acquiring (not everywhere alas!) the role they deserve. A point illustrated by this excellent Icelandic film, aptly titled 'Woman at War', offering the striking portrait of a modern-times female warrior, the wonderful Halla, played by the equally awesome actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir ("Regina!", "Of Horses and Men"). Inventively directed by Benedikt Erlingsson (the author of the already mentioned "Of Horses and Men"), it may well become a cult classic.

To tell you the truth, before entering the hall, I thought I knew in advance how the film would develop : a corrupt system (in this case an aluminium company that threatens the environment of Iceland and its people), would make the protagonist (a carbon copy of the white hero) an activist who would start by winning her first fights before having to face severe counter-attacks only to triumph in the end, all the wrongs righted. The only thing that really attracted me was that the story was set among the unusual landscapes of Iceland. How big (and pleasant) my surprise was! For, as of the very first shot, it was quite evident that "Woman at War" was not going to tread the beaten track. What other movie indeed opens on a fifty-year old lady drawing a bow and shooting an arrow towards high voltage power lines? And not only that but also managing to cause a short-circuit cutting off supply in the aluminium plant area? There mustn't be many. Such an attack against toxic modernism carried out by a woman using archaic weapons sets the tone for this fanciful and utterly unpredictable film.

For, in the wake of this inspired overture, imagination, suspense, laughter, happily follow suit. The delighted viewer is indeed treated to a whole menu of various pleasures, such as breathless sequences (Halla being hunted by cars, dogs, drones, helicopters), constant surprises and twists (impossible while watching a scene to guess what will come after), unexpected changes of tone (the underground warrior being also the conductor of an amateur choir), unusual ideas (Halla saved from icy waters by being plunged into a... hot water source), detachment from the action (the ever-present brass band) and irrepressible comedy (the recurring mishaps of a poor foreigner). At the same time and for the same ticket price, you get a very serious social and political commentary (among the topics broached, corruption, commitment, environment, the future of mankind). And although this last aspect is pessimistic, even bordering on bitterness and despair, it is always alleviated by the writer-director's sense of humor and narrative skills.

A very positive assesment, to which can be added a fine homegenous cast in which Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, remarkable as she is, never tries to be number one.

All in all, a perfect film, managing to combine art, entertainment and reflection, which is not so common. Recommended of course.

I think this was my first Icelandic film experience, but somehow it was exactly how I was expecting: Gentle, bold, and with a glimpse of humor.

The film works well on an absurdist or symbolic level, but certainly not on a literal level. She's fighting the good fight against corporate pollution, but if this were reality rather than an absurdist film, she'd probably be hurting the environment, not helping it.

In reality, the treeless environments of the North, in places like Iceland and Scotland, were once covered with trees. Climate change might be prevented (a little) by replanting those ancient forests. But that might hurt the traditional shepherd culture in rural Iceland, so it isn't done. The film portrays these traditional shepherds as environmental heroes, while the aluminum plant is the villain.

In reality, the aluminum industry has always been desperate for cheap electricity, because it uses a lot of it. So if you're really trying to combat climate change, then where better to site such a plant than Iceland, where all the electrical power is generated without burning any fossil fuels at all? I'm not implying that the big aluminum plant is some kind of environmental hero, but at a literal level, the film's hero has got her environmentalism exactly backward, going after exactly the wrong target.

I'm not naïve about the fact that corporations in general are usually the worst villains in today's world. We liberals in the west might like to imagine that the democratic socialists in Scandinavian countries live in some kind of anti-corporate utopian paradise, but the film reminds us that our utopianism is naive. In reality, Iceland's leaders have recently been shown to be as corrupt as any Brazilian leaders, not just once but twice. First, during the recent bailout of the big banks, Iceland's leaders were implicated as having ruined Iceland's economy by investing in exactly the wrong American derivatives. Second, the more recent Panama Papers scandal showed us that Iceland's rulers are still up to their corrupt tricks. The film's got it exactly right when it characterizes the entire culture of Iceland's leaders (and probably the leaders of almost all countries) as "psychopathic." Today's American corporate culture can best be described as psychopathic, too, especially now that it seems bent on turning the entire planet into Hell on Earth.

I think the film's director is probably on the side of the most naïve, hippie-trippy, clueless environmentalists. One big clue is the film's reverence toward the New Age religion which characterizes that whole hippie-trippy culture. Anything big and corporate is by definition bad, and anything small and local (e.g., the shepherds) is by definition good. No more thinking is required.

Well, as the Swede Greta Thunberg points out, we need to fix global warming now, or we won't have a future to look forward to. If we need to fix all political and social problems (read: corporate capitalism) first, then it'll be too late and we're all doomed. Instead, we've got to force the system we've got now (corporate capitalism) into an environmentalist direction. And if we actually take the trouble to think, then it's pretty easy to see what we need to do as soon as possible. We've got to generate cheap, abundant electricity just like they do in Iceland, without using any fossil fuels. Then by switching our transportation and industry from fossil fuels to electricity, we might just have a green future to look forward to, even if our corporations remain as happy, profitable, and psychopathic as they are now. We've got to force our corporations to move in this direction. Psychopaths can't even be trusted to follow our direction, so they certainly can't be trusted to lead us into the promised land. Our leaders will kill us if we keep letting them lead.

Even if the politics of this film are squarely within the hippie-trippy environmentalist camp which seems incapable of rational thought, it'll certainly get you to think seriously about the issues which matter most today. Any film which leads to thoughtful discussion afterwards is a great film -- whether you agree with the film's politics or not. Another mark of a great film is whether a film is worth seeing twice. This one definitely is. I only hope that the Hollywood remake of this film is at least half as good as the Icelandic original. If it is, then maybe it will help create young American versions of Greta Thunberg. If enough Gretas take to the streets to lead our leaders, then maybe, just maybe, we can save the world.

I've watched this film three or four times now (it's often on SBS in Australia) and it is absolutely amazing. I love it. Original plot, incredible acting, stunning scenery - and the story is all show, no tell. Long stretches of no dialogue where action drives the plot. The actress who plays both main female leads is brilliant. The way the two plots intertwine is really moving and the end is very emotional. One of the best elements is the soundtrack which is completely embedded in the film. That oompah-band and the trio of female singers are wonderful and as so much to this quirky film's intimacy and success. Cannot recommend it more. An unexpected delight; one of those fantastic indie movies they don't really make much any more.

Woman at War is a film about a woman who has taken on the role of eco-terrorist to try and fight increased industrialization in Iceland. The question is, can she fight for what she thinks is right, keep her identity hidden from the authorities, and live a normal life in the meantime? This movie was exhilarating in all the right ways. I was totally invested in her adventures, and always wondered if she would take things too far. When regular life comes into play, I was even more interested to see what she might do, since balancing life as an outlaw with domestic life could be impossible. I was totally intrigued by this character. She is likable, and feels like one of the most friendly women you could possibly meet, and yet she is also fiercely passionate about a cause and does what she can for the betterment of her country (without hurting anyone in the process.)

One of the more quirky elements of Woman at War is something I'd rather not spoil for those who haven't seen the film. However, it's a fun way of breaking the fourth wall that I never saw coming. It made me laugh every time they went there, and added a unique element that sets this film apart from others I've seen. Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is absolutely awesome in the lead role. She has to carry a great deal of this film on her own, and she manages to do it all and make it look easy. The tone of the film ranges from serious to silly, and that could throw some people off. Personally, I thought it worked remarkably well, and I enjoyed both the chuckles and the stress of our hero possibly being caught. It's a movie that entertains you and makes a point all at the same time. I would highly recommend Woman at War to anyone looking for something off the beaten path. It's a delightfully different kind of film.

This is the antidote to comic book all action goo. A thoughtful, well acted, absorbing story of passionate environmental defiance with touching personal risks. Strong believable characters, nothing sentimental or contrived but with enough twists to demand attention. All with the backdrop of some of the most stunning scenery anywhere. Just watch it. just think twice about being a cycling tourist in Iceland.

Probably would have enjoyed it more if I had been just slightly stoned.

Woman At War: Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is angry. Angry at Rio Tinto whose smelter is damaging the pristine environment of Iceland. So she takes direct action, sabotaging electricity pylons, cutting off power to the smelter. There is more than just the smelter involved though. Halla's actions are putting at stake a resources exploitation deal between China and Iceland. Halla's gets inside information from a senior civil servant, Baldvin (Jörundur Ragnarsson), Baldvin is now worried that Halla will be caught, a satellite will be used to track her, and tries to persuade her to just issue a manifesto. Halaa gas another reason to reconsider her actions: she has been approved to adopt a girl.

This is a political thriller, a comedy with surreal overtones, an eco-action film. But foremost it is about the indomitable spirit of one woman who will have to make hard choices. When Halla is pursued by helicopters and drones she hides in crevices, uses the carcass of a dead sheep to fool heat-seeking radar. Discovers a long lost cousin, farmer Sveinbjörn (Jóhann Sigurðarson), who helps her escape. A three piece band and choir trio appear incongruously in scenes. Eventually the surreal turns existential, Halla goes to a rooftop to scatter copies of her manifesto, the band enter the action and tweet images of her proclamation,

Director & co-writer Benedikt Erlingsson delivers a delightful, funny but hard-hitting drama. 8/10.

I don't see it as a black comedy but it is certainly quirky, eccentric and surreal.

It was slow at first but picked up during the second half.

I am not too sure of the accuracy of the environmental storyline, but it made for and interesting and engaging tale.

Apart of political affaires, this is a nice iceland film. Beautiful photography, great acting. I tend to agree that has some short film tics, because the mountain scenes are extremly intense, pin to screen, but all the scenes exploring the relationships of the main character always seem that something is missing, that it could've gone beyond.

The out-of-the-box, original, abstract, maybe methaporic inner pulse musicians are, of course, the thing about this film.

Now about the political issues (always on cinema sight) : the only thing i want to say is films about hot themes and current discussions are easily predictable, lazy, moralist and redundant. This one isn't any of them.

Positives: I did like the Gandhi & Mandela non-violent posters. The focus on future generations of humans & Earth (not something of interest to our top U.S. politician), and the namaste shout out of greeting your inner holy goodness vs. your outer appearance. The embedding of Iceland & Ukrainian musicians and the foreign tourist were oddly amusing. Not sure what the symbolism might have been.

Negatives: A Ukrainian war is mentioned which must be the conflict in Eastern Ukraine w/Russia; ongoing since 2014, but how that connects w/Iceland is not clear. Another strange connection is the plot centering on denying an aluminum plant electricity which actually produces a product that is recyclable & less environmentally destructive than most alternative similarly used materials. And, even less so when Iceland's renewable hydro & geo energy sources are available. Also not the most efficient way to address climate & pollution problems. The eco-terrorism (called terrorists when it's the underdog fighting for a cause) of taking out the power lines is not a healthy solution as safety, hospitals, life-support, and those who rely on electricity to maintain a normal healthy day-to-day life would also be affected.

This is an amazing film that manages to be a very serious and I would even say spiritual drama, with painfully true themes regarding anthropogenic climate change, that is also amusing and funny.

Woman at War is original, touching and inspiring. I highly recommend it. One of the most brilliant touches are the ghostly folk singers who follow Halla around, which is an interesting reference back to Oedipus Rex and the Greek chorus of elders. The film emphasizes that different individuals have unique journeys or paths that may not always look the way that you originally planned yet still manage to highlight that individual's special passions or gifts.