Woman at War (Kona fer í stríð) is a 2018 Icelandic-Ukrainian comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, and starring Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir.
Woman at War | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Benedikt Erlingsson |
Written by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson |
Edited by | Davíð Alexander Corno |
Music by | Davíð Þór Jónsson |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Countries |
|
Languages |
|
Budget | $2.9 million |
Box office | $4.1 million[1][2] |
Following a premiere at 2018 Cannes Film Festival via the International Critics' Week, it was released on 22 May 2018 to critical acclaim and selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, but it was not nominated.[3][4][5]
Halla, a choir conductor and eco-activist, plans to disrupt the operations of a Rio Tinto aluminium plant in the Icelandic highlands, purposely damaging electricity pylons and wires to cut their power supply.
One day, a long-forgotten application to adopt an orphan child from Ukraine is approved. At the same time, the government ramps up police and propaganda efforts in order to catch and discredit her. The film revolves around her attempts to reconcile her dangerous and illegal activism with the upcoming adoption.[6][7] All the while, the film's soundtrack players, consisting of a three-man band and Ukrainian traditional singers, interacts with the plot and characters.[8][9]
Woman at War was shown at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, in the International Critics' Week section, where the screenwriters won the SACD award.[10] The film won the Nordic Council Film Prize[11] and the Lux prize award of the European Parliament for 2018.[12]
It also was voted the audience award at the Tromsø International Film Festival in Norway in January 2019.[13]
Peter Bradshaw, for The Guardian, praised Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir's 'attractive and sympathetic performance' as Halla, and called the film a 'well-turned, well-tuned oddity' that was 'confidently and rather stylishly made'.[6]
Jay Weissberg, for Variety, called the film 'a delightful follow-up to Of Horses and Men', and praised the director for 'arranging beautifully shot picaresque episodes around a central figure who lives the ideals of the heroes she has hanging on her wall, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela'.[7]
On 11 December 2018, it was announced that Jodie Foster was to direct and star in an English remake.[14][15]
European Parliament's Lux Prize | |
---|---|
|
The Nordic Council Film Prize | |
---|---|
|