Rent Cold Fever (1995)

A journey through the land of fire and icicles. - Cold Fever review by CP Customer

The plot of Cold Fever revolves around 'Hirata', a Japanese businessman who journeys across Iceland to fulfil a family obligation. His parents drowned in an Icelandic mountain river seven years previously when Hirata was a college student, now as an adult he must go there to perform a traditional Japanese ritual and free their spirits from their place of death. However, while the obligation to his dead parents is what gets him started and the obvious goal that keeps him going; it is the journey in which he finds himself in strange situations and the many colourful characters he meets which both deeply affect and change the man. My only criticism is that the film has a rather schizophrenic feel to it, on one hand the film is very Icelandic with dark humour and magical symbolism, on the other it presents a very westernised view of Iceland, partly because most of the dialogue is in English and partly because it sometimes relies on a lot of stereotypes. Overall, 'Cold Fever' is a very quiet understated film, its humour is typically Nordic; dark, laconic, subtle and full of pathos, which perfectly compliments its rather sentimental story. If you like this you should also check out another great Icelandic film, 'Nio Albinoi'.