Synopsis
Halla declares a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry. She is prepared to risk everything to protect the pristine Icelandic Highlands she loves… Until an orphan unexpectedly enters her life.
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Cast
- Halldóra GeirharðsdóttirHalla / Ása
- Jóhann SigurðarsonSveinbjörn
- Davíð Þór JónssonPianist / Accordion Player
- Ómar GuðjónssonSousaphone Player
- Magnús Trygvason EliassenDrummer
- Iryna DanyleikoUkrainian Choir Singer
- Galyna GoncharenkoUkrainian Choir Singer
- Susanna KurpenkoUkrainian Choir Singer
- Jörundur RagnarssonBaldvin
- Juan Camillo Roman EstradaJuan Camillo
Recommendations
- 100
Variety
Erlingsson’s genius lies in how he puts it all together with such witty intelligence, arranging beautifully shot picaresque episodes around a central figure who lives the ideals of the heroes she has hanging on her wall, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. - 90
TheWrap
Woman at War is a beautiful hoot. - 90
The New York Times
Approaching weighty themes with a very light touch, Benedikt Erlingsson’s Woman at War is an environmental drama wrapped in whimsical comedy and tied with a bow of midlife soul-searching. - 88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Filmmaker Erlingsson has an eye for detail, a flair for the absurd – a sousaphone-based trio pops up here and there – and a deft touch with social commentary and political satire. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
There are a few standout scenes in War's closing reels, as well as a few cleverly executed twists, yet Erlingsson doesn't let them undercut the movie's emotional sway. - 80
Screen Daily
Carried by a magnetic performance from Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in a dual role (she plays both Halla and her identical twin sister Asa), Benedikt Erlingsson’s enjoyable follow up to Of Horses And Men is elevated by wryly idiosyncratic flourishes in its execution. - 75
The Playlist
As surely as a hiker extending her arms in the middle of an undulating lava field, Iceland has arrived, with a startling movie that’s every bit as idiosyncratic, homely, and dynamic as its country of origin. - 75
Movie Nation
Erlingsson takes a fairly cut-and-dried caper comedy and tosses twist after twist into it, letting Woman at War surprise us just as often as it repeats a running gag (the poor, cursing bicycle-camping Spaniard).
