Rent Woman at War (2018)
3.9 of 5 from 393 ratings
1h 36min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
To her friends, Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) leads a quiet and routine life. But her happy and upbeat exterior hides a secret double life as a committed environmental activist. Known to others as "The Mountain Woman", she wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry to protect the stunning highland landscape that is under threat. Just as she begins planning her biggest and boldest operation yet, she receives an unexpected letter that will change everything. She will be forced to choose between her environmental crusade and the chance of fulfilling her dream of becoming a mother. Funny, moving and utterly unique, 'Woman at War' follows Halla as she juggles the adoption of a beautiful little girl whilst planning her final act of industrial sabotage. - Actors:
- Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Juan Camillo Roman Estrada, Jörundur Ragnarsson, Sólveig Arnarsdóttir, Gunnar Bersi Björnsson, Helga Braga Jónsdóttir, Charlotte Bøving, Iryna Danyleiko, Vala Kristin Eiriksdottir, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, Saga Garðarsdóttir, Jón Gnarr, Galyna Goncharenko, Omar Gudjonsson, Thorstein Gudmundsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Albert Halldórsson, Halldór Halldórsson, Margaryta Hilska
- Directors:
- Benedikt Erlingsson
- Producers:
- Benedikt Erlingsson, Carine Leblanc, Marianne Slot
- Writers:
- Benedikt Erlingsson, Ólafur Egilsson
- Aka:
- Kona fer í stríð
- Studio:
- Picture House Entertainment
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
- Countries:
- Iceland
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 16/09/2019
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Icelandic Dolby Digital 2.0, Icelandic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Ukrainian Dolby Digital 2.0, Ukrainian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.40:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Interview with Benedict Erlingsson and Halldora Geirhardsdottir (29 mins Approx.)
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Reviews (9) of Woman at War
Weighty environmental fable with a light touch and warm heart - Woman at War review by PD
Benedikt Erlingsson's film raises some weighty themes but treats them with a very light touch and warm heart. It's basically an environmental drama wrapped in whimsical comedy and tied up with a bow of midlife soul-searching. The package is a little hit-and-miss, but is still very watchable due to to an engaging central performance and a cinematographer, Bergsteinn Bjorgulfsson, whose sweeping shots of frozen heath and lowering Icelandic skies tend to save us from extraneous distractions.
The movie’s heart and spine is Halla (Halldora Geirharosdottir), 50, a sunny choir director and fearless eco-activist. Intent on halting the construction of a new aluminum smelter outside Reykjavik, she sabotages power lines and does (literal) battle with the drones deployed to find her. Her exploits become increasingly daring, and when we see no partner or family other than an identical twin sister (also played by Geirharosdottir), we begin to wonder if her adventures are filling more than just a need to save her homeland, a suspicion strengthened after the arrival of a letter announcing that her application to adopt a child, filed years earlier, has been approved. Yet as Halla teeters between motherhood and vandalism, creation and destruction, her embrace of the natural world intensifies. Often she’s pictured moving through water or clinging to the earth, face buried in gorse and arms flung wide, as if trying to stop her world from spinning, whilst surreal touches, like pop-up musicians only Halla can see, give the movie’s politics a playful, fable-like quality.
There's quite a few implausible plot twists and the adoption sub-plot perhaps doesn't quite work as well as the main 'woman vs world' theme, but generally this is a poignant, intriguing piece of filmmaking.
8 out of 8 members found this review helpful.
Refreshing - Woman at War review by KK
This is just the sort of film we have joined the C Paradiso to watch, rather than the usual Hollywood blockbusters. It's refreshingly different. It shows an Icelandic landscape, a windblown landscape of glaciers, moss and lichen, and has moments of impossible magical transformation.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Quirky but great - Woman at War review by BB
Loved this film! The ideas, acting, direction - everything. It dealt with very serious issues and dilemmas in a very clever and humorous way.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.