Movies - Cold Fever

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	Movies - Cold Fever

Cold Fever (1995) is an Icelandic film directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. It is a road movie set in Iceland and was the first of Friðriksson's films to be made in the English language. The movie depicts the travels of a Japanese man across Iceland. It was jokingly promoted as the best Icelandic-Japanese road movie of 1995.

Plot

Hirata (Masatoshi Nagase) is a successful Japanese businessman whose plan for a two-week holiday in Hawaii changes when his grandfather (Seijun Suzuki) reminds him that he should go Iceland.

Hirata’s parents passed away there seven years ago, and the seven year death anniversary is a significant event in Japanese culture. Hirata must perform a ceremony in the river where they died - the drowned must be fed by the surviving family members if they are to find peace.

Hirata goes to Iceland - to Reykjavík. His final destination is a remote river on the far side of the island. He decides to purchase an ancient, bright red Citroen DS to make the journey and meets several strange people along the way. These include the mystical woman who sells him the car, that only plays one radio station, a man who collects photographs of funerals, two American hitchhiker/fugitives (Lili Taylor and Fisher Stevens), who turn out to be armed and dangerous, and nearing his destination, an old man (Gísli Halldórsson) who teaches Hirata how to drink the most potent alcoholic beverage in Iceland.

Style

The film is humorous in tone with an unpredictable plot. The cinematography highlights the beauty of Iceland's glaciers, rivers, and volcanic formations; to accentuate this, the brief scenes in Japan were shot with the television aspect ratio of 1.33:1, while in Iceland the aspect ratio changes to the cinemascope (2.35:1).

The film bears resemblance to the understated style made popular by director Jim Jarmusch.

Themes

Cold Fever is about the value of striving hard for goals, but suggests that our most rewarding experiences are not planned, but come out of the blue.

Credits

Cast

Masatoshi Nagase
: Hirata.
Lili Taylor
: Jill.
Fisher Stevens
: Jack.
Gísli Halldórsson: Siggi.
Seijun Suzuki
: Grandfather.
Laura Huges: Laura.
Jóhannes B. Guðmundsson: Old Man.
Bríet Héðinsdóttir: Old Woman.
Guðmundur Karl Sigurdórsson: Guest at Thorrablot (uncredited).
Magnús Ólafsson: ???
Rúrik Haraldsson: ???
Flosi Ólafsson: ???
Ari Matthíasson: ???
Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir: ???
Hallbjörn Hjartarson: ???
Katrín Ólafsdóttir: ???
Jóhannes Grínari: ???

Crew

Director: Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
Screenplay: Jim Stark and Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
Producer: Jim Stark.
Co-producer: George Gund III.
Executive producer: Reinhard Brundig, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, and Christa Saredi.
Line producer: Ari Kristinsson.
Director of Photography: Ari Kristinsson.
Production Designer: Árni Páll Jóhannsson.
Editor: Steingrímur Karlsson.
Film edition: Steingrímur Karlsson.
Sound Design: Kjartan Kjartansson.
Sound edition: Ingvar Lundberg.
Music: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
Featuring “Killer Boogie” by Þeyr.
Costume design: María Ólafsdóttir.
Production manager: Inga Björk Sólnes.
Gaffer: Andreas Burkhard.
Generator operator: Eggert Einarsson.
Still photography: Mark Higashino.
Script supervisor: Inga Lísa Middleton.
Colour grader: Petra Schütt.
Production: Icelandic Film Corporation, Iciclefilm, Pandora Film, Sunrice Inc., Zentropa Entertainment, Georg Gund III.
Support: Film Fond of Hamburg.

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