A White, White Day


A White, White Day is a 2019 Icelandic drama film directed by Hlynur Pálmason. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

Plot

Mourning the accidental death of his wife, a police chief becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. He investigates a man he believes was having an affair with her.

Cast

Box office

A White, White Day grossed approximately $340,000 across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 7.53/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A White, White Day plunges viewers into the darkness of grief and jealousy, led by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson's brilliantly layered performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised the film for its "startling aesthetic choices" and "enigmatic opening sequence."
Brian Tallerico, writing for Roger Ebert, gave the film 3 stars whilst positively highlighting leading man Sigurðsson. He also praised the ending with "such a devastating, powerful final shot that it alone erases most criticisms." Variety praised the film's deliberate pacing that is preoccupied less with "ticking-clock storylines" but "slow cinema" often associated with foreign film directors outside the Hollywood bubble. It is described as "a terrifying, soul-rattling character study" which makes Palmasson one of "the most important voices of this emerging generation."