White Night Wedding


White Night Wedding is a 2008 Icelandic film directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The bittersweet comedy, about the never-ending search for love and happiness, takes place in Flatey, Breiðafjörður, western Iceland. The film is loosely based on the play Ivanov by Anton Chekhov.

Plot

The film opens with a wedding rehearsal at a small church in an isolated barren landscape. At the altar groom-to-be Jon, a middle-aged literature professor, is repeatedly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone, much to the minister's annoyance. The present narrative alternates with flashbacks that depiction the disintegration of Jon's first marriage to sensitive artist Anna. Jon's new bride-to-be, Thora, is a former student half his age, which triggers disapproval by some, including his future in-laws. As preparations for the wedding unfold during the "white night", the reason for Jon's increasing reluctance to marry is revealed: he and Anna visited the same spot a year earlier, and she died in an accident after she found Jon and Thora making love. The marriage finally takes place, and Jon and Thora settle down to a life very much like the one he had with Anna.

Cast

White Night Wedding was nominated for the 2008 Nordic Council Film Prize and the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. It received seven Edda Awards in 2008: