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M�rin (Jar City) (2007)

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Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 36
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 2

A sublimely directed thriller, Jar City combines murder mystery, family drama and ample bits of Icelandic culture into a fascinating cinematic experience.

100

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 0

A sublimely directed thriller, Jar City combines murder mystery, family drama and ample bits of Icelandic culture into a fascinating cinematic experience.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 2,551

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Movie Info

In 1974, a young Icelandic girl met a grim fate at the hands of a murderer -- and the crime was never solved. So begins celebrated director Baltasar Korm�kur's procedural thriller Jar City (or M�rin), adapted from Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indridason's 2000 best-seller, Tainted Blood. In the present day, the jaded and exhausted detective Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson) begins to investigate a link between that notorious unsolved crime and the homicide of a local thug, Holberg (Thorsteinn

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

Directed By: Baltasar Kormaker , Baltasar Korm�kur

Written By: Arnaldur Indri�ason, Baltasar Korm�kur, Michael Ross

In Theaters: Oct 20, 2006 Wide

IFC First Take

Tremendously acted and shot with memorable confidence, Jar City deserves a much wider release than it's apparently going to get.

July 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Salon.com

| Comment

Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

Top Critic

Terrifically acted, expertly shot and painstakingly paced, Jar City investigates deeper, darker themes. And Erlendur is a reminder that homicide detectives don't save lives so much as exhume the meanings of violence.

June 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Denver Post

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Lisa Kennedy

Denver Post

Top Critic

Director Baltasar Kormakur interweaves taciturn Scandinavian humor and morbid violence for a unique combination of flavors.

April 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

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Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

The story, based on a best-selling novel, has familiar overtones; but Kormakur overcomes them with stylish direction.

February 29, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Post

| Comment

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Top Critic

The picture of Iceland that emerges in Baltasar Korm�kur's Jar City is vivid and powerful but not something the country's tourist board would be likely to endorse.

February 29, 2008 Comment

A.O. Scott

New York Times

Top Critic

For those of us, like me, who know next to nothing about Iceland or the Icelandic cinema, Jar City is an absorbingly revelatory experience, and one of the most mesmerizing movies of the year.

February 27, 2008 Comment

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

Unnerving and emotional, this police thriller has an unnerving breadth and depth, as a murder case opens a decades-old inquiry that brings all kinds of dark creepiness with it. It's like an Icelandic twist on Seven.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall

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Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Korm�kur, who made the highly original 101 Reykjavik, is clearly saying something pessimistic about his homeland and, as a film-maker, has the means to do so to some effect.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: This is London

| Comment

Derek Malcolm

This is London

The burden of this Icelandic procedural thriller will put a chill in your bones, if the lugubrious, wind-whipped coastal setting hasn't done already.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Independent

| Comment

Anthony Quinn

Independent

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A murder story in the grungy-misanthropic style of Korm�kur's 101 Reykjavik, but without the plaintive wit or probing compassion.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Financial Times

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

I'll admit that I struggled to keep up with some of the more intricate twists and turns, but things come together for a shocking and memorable finale.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK]

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Daily Mirror [UK]

Refusing to spoonfeed its audience, this is a dark, convoluted thriller, tightly scripted and richly atmospheric.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Total Film

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Philip Kemp

Total Film

Bleak surroundings and grim humour create a suitably sombre mood, but in the wake of juicy police procedurals like Dennis Lehane adaptations Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, this is disappointingly straightforward stuff.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Sky Movies

| Comment

Elliott Noble

Sky Movies

The disinterring of corpses makes this film almost too ghoulish for its own good, but Iceland's top director Baltasar Korm�kur wraps it up in his distinctive frostbitten style.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph

It's an intriguing puzzle that held me gripped until the very end.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

It's a terrific piece of direction from Korm�kur. Everything, from the look of the film, to the brilliantly unsettling use of food as a recurring motif, is judged perfectly.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Times [UK]

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Wendy Ide

Times [UK]

A satisfying, altogether distinctive piece of filmmaking.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Trevor Johnston

Time Out

In short, this is a superbly made, thoroughly engaging thriller that exerts a powerful emotional grip and is well worth seeking out. Recommended

September 11, 2008 Full Review Source: ViewLondon

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Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

A chilling murder mystery which should do wonders for Iceland's film industry.

September 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

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Rosamund Witcher

Empire Magazine

A cold case in a cold place - Iceland's chilly legacy comes under investigation in this tragic noir.

September 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

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Anton Bitel

Film4

bazeis (ton skinotheti) se katigoria spanioy talentoy, kai toy syghoreis tin adynamia na brei kaskanter tis prokopis gia merikes apo tis apaititikes skines

June 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses

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Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

Jar City is an absorbing mystery connecting different generations and set in the desolate landscapes of Iceland.

April 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

| Comment

Ed Scheid

Boxoffice Magazine

a great icelandic thriller

March 11, 2008 Comment

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

sbs.is

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for M�rin (Jar City)

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Twisty Icelandic who dunnit added extra flavour by its unusual setting (stark, bleak landscapes) and culture ( takeaway sheep's head !). Unusual context is let down by an overly familiar core plot.

March 3, 2009

Gordon A

Super Reviewer

Icelandic murder mystery that would be a fairly standard story of the reopening of an old unresolved small-town case if it were not for the modern-day genetics database twist. An interesting movie that ties up all the plot strands within a nice length.

September 13, 2008

Ross Collins

Super Reviewer

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