Film reviews
A Prophet
A riveting and unforgettable story of one man’s rise through the prison ranks.
Valentine's Day
Loose in narrative and light in tone, a perfectly inoffensive date movie.
Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief
With a top-notch cast and dazzling special effects, this will tide the teens over until the next Harry Potter instalment.
The Room
Despite the complete lack of talent of the principals, this cult oddity tries so hard for greatness that it almost gets there.
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
Black Ice (Film)
Rating: MA
Running Time: 103
Country: Finland
Director: Petri Kotwica
Cast: Ria Kataja, Outi Maenpaa, Martti Suosalo
Distributor: Potential
Film Worth: $8.00
Release Date: January 15, 2009
“The performances are uniformly excellent…”
There is no redemption in this film of trickery, deception and betrayal. No characters end their journey on a happy note, and the setting of the barren snowscape of Finland gives the film an oppressively bleak look and feel.
In the first few scenes, we discover that Leo (Martti Suosalo) is having an affair with his young student Tuuli (Ria Kataja). His wife, Saara (Outi Maenpaa), finds out quite early on that her husband has been unfaithful, and goes on a mission to discover who the girl is and how she can make her leave the scene. In doing so, she befriends Tuuli, pretending to be a psychologist called Crista who opens up the holes in Tuuli and Leo's relationship. In the twisted mess that unfolds between Leo, Saara, Tuuli and several unwitting bystanders, everyone is left stranded in their betrayal and far lonelier than they were to start with. Strangely enough, the relationship that may perhaps survive the turmoil is that between Saara and Tuuli.
The performances are uniformly excellent, particularly from the women, though one wonders why so much grief and anger is felt over the character of Leo: it is difficult to see why someone would be attracted to the perpetually unfaithful man in the first place. Also, the soundtrack is overwhelming at times - the landscape often is enough to convey a sense of dramatic tension without the need for the swelling string section.
