WOMAN AT WAR
The Cannes award-winning follow-up to Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s wildly popular festival hit Of Horses and Men (MIFF 2014) tells a funny and warm-hearted musical tale of a woman on a personal environmental crusade.
Middle-aged Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is a modest, beloved choir leader who is also secretly the ‘Mountain Woman’: an eco-activist focused on bringing down the heavy industry that threatens Iceland’s natural beauty, one sabotaged electricity pylon at a time. A hefty thorn in the side of local government and business, Halla’s one-woman campaign has a bump placed in its path when she receives confirmation that her application to adopt a child has been approved.
Backed by Of Horses and Men cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson’s stunning camera work, as well a glorious musical chorus of Icelandic folk instrumentalists and Ukrainian singers that break the fourth wall in barnstorming fashion, Erlingsson banishes any hint of sophomore film blues with another truly unique work: skilful, thrilling, surreal and perfectly crowned by the exquisite presence of Geirharðsdóttir.
Winner of the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize at Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
"Delightful… an intelligent feel-good film that knows how to tackle urgent global issues with humor as well as a satisfying sense of justice." – Variety