The Sea (2002 film)

The Sea
The Sea
	The VHS cover
Directed by	Baltasar Kormákur
Written by	Olafur Haukur Símonarson (play); Baltasar Kormákur
Starring	Gunnar Eyjólfsson; Hilmir Snær Guðnason; Hélène de Fougerolles
Edited by	Valdís Óskarsdóttir
Release date	2002;
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Iceland / France / Norway
Language	Icelandic / Norwegian / English

The Sea, (Icelandic: Hafið (pronunciation^ⓘ)), is a 2002 Icelandic comedy drama film, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The film tells the story of a wealthy Icelandic family, owners of a fish industry company in a small Icelandic coastal town, and various family issues they have to deal with.

Cast

Gunnar Eyjólfsson as Thórdur
Hilmir Snær Guðnason as Ágúst
Hélène de Fougerolles as Françoise
Kristbjörg Kjeld as Kristín
Herdís Thorvaldsdóttir as Kata
Gudrún Gísladóttir as Ragnheidur
Sven Nordin as Morten
Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir as Áslaug
Sigurdur Skúlason as Haraldur
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir as María
Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson as Kalli bumba

Production

The Sea was filmed almost entirely in and around Neskaupstaður.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 49% approval rating, based on 51 reviews with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's consensus reads, "This look at a fraught family reunion should be easily relatable, but The Sea drowns viewers in melodrama when it should be carrying them toward darkly comedic shores."^[1] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 52 out of 100, which is based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[2]

Awards

The film won eight awards at the Edda Awards, Iceland in 2002 (Best Actor for Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Best Actress for Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Sigurður Skúlason, Best Supporting Actress for Herdís Þorvaldsdóttir, Film of the Year and Professional Category: Sound/Vision), where it was also nominated for 4 more awards. In the same year, it was nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize and for the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 2003, it won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for the Golden Tulip, and the Audience Award at the Tromsø International Film Festival in Norway.