When someone you're close to dies, maybe you go through a "process", or the seven stages of grief, or maybe grief is different for everyone. A white, white day is a depiction of a grief-stricken man named Ingimundur. He's an retired policeman (or maybe he's on extended bereavement leave - it's hard to tell), and he's recently widowed. On the surface, he's doing everything right. He has a project (converting a rural building into a house), he spends meaningful time with his grand-daughter, he catches up with his old colleagues, sees his friends and his brother and plays football. He goes to weekly grief-counselling, organised by the police.
Unfortunately, he discovers that his wife was being unfaithful, and this leads to, firstly, a period of detective work, and secondly to a period of madness where he attempts to deal with the discovery.
During the period of madness, Ingimundur attacks his old work colleagues and puts them in the cells which has to be one of the most amazing fight scenes I've watched. And he kidnaps the man he thinks his wife was having sex with , and makes him confess at gunpoint. He reduces his eight-year old grand-daughter to tears more than once. By the end of the film, there's been true catharsis but surprisingly, I was left with the sense that Ingimundur will be ok, and that no-one will hold his madness against him.
Ingimundur is on the screen practically every moment, and his grand-daughter Salka is on it about eighty percent of the time. They're both completely convincing and compelling. The film is a great watch, and there's an incredible tension, created by wondering how far over the edge Ingimundur is going to go.
An added bonus is seeing cute Icelandic ponies, and some completely dreadful Icelandic children's TV.
Anne's rating 4.5/5 Ian's rating 3.5/5
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