THE SEA

"The Sea, like director Baltasar Kormakur's predecessor (101 Reykjavik, MIFF 2001), tells the story of a fire-and-ice showdown by spinning what we know of the family drama into a whirl of erotic redefinition.

"Hoary patriarch and self-styled autocrat Thordur summons his grown children home to the Icelandic fishing community that he helped found with decades of toil. Now, modernization and waning scruples among businessmen are pushing him out of business, forcing him to project all his hope onto his kids. Compelled to return by guilt, need or even a spiteful curiosity, his descendants and their own families are soon dragged into close quarters for the first time in years. Deep and menacing secrets abound in their history and the land of ice and snow proves a hotbed when Thordur's high-stakes game to salvage his empire slams up against his children's long-nurtured contempt.

"Kormakur's cast is at once polished and naturalistic as they insinuate decades of familial bitterness or concealed lusts with simple actions: a cryptic question or a smile that drops into a frown in the space of a heartbeat. Scintillating and chilling in equal measure, The Sea marks a decisive corroboration of its director's fiery sensibility and ardent talent."—Toronto Film Festival