Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The acting in this movie is really good.

In the film White Night Wedding, directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur, the idea of true happiness and love in marriage is depicted as impossible to attain. Yet the promise of a new beginning seems to always be in the near horizon. The opening scene reveals a marriage rehearsal between a middle-aged and pessimist professor, Jon, and a fairly young and former student to Jon, Thora. It is clear within the first scene that Jon is not thrilled to marry Thora. Jon's unenthusiastic demeanor and narcissistic personality is portrayed throughout the entire movie, which result in loveless marriages. The film frequently flashes back to Jon's previous marriage with his former wife, Anna. The couple moves to the beautiful and isolated town in western Iceland, Flatley, Breioafjorou in hopes of reviving their dwindling marriage. Jon and Anna's marriage had been suffering because Anna had a mental illness. Not many details are given as to how her illness occurred but it is clear that her mental episodes severely impacted Jon's attraction and love for Anna. When the struggling couple moves to Flatley, Jon makes a business deal with, the parents of Thora, Sisi and Larus. The business plan was to open a golf course that stretched across the town in rather inconvenient locations. The golf course is poorly executed and which results in Jon accumulating an insane amount of debt. In the midst of this ridiculous golf course investment, Jon and Anna continue to grow further apart. Jon starts to become annoyed by Anna's creative and insane nature. He then develops an attraction for Thora, which results in a heated affair. Anna finds out about the affair and has a mental breakdown that ultimately puts an end to their life together.Though the end of Jon's previous marriage is tragic and the beginning of his current one seems like a hopeless case, there is a dark comedic element to the film. I think this element is shown in the supporting roles and their pathetic nature. For example, Jon's best man, Borker, is an incredibly oblivious and clueless man who only makes Jon's life more difficult. In fact, it is ironic that Borker is Jon's best man as the golf course was his foolish idea that led to Jon's falling out between Thora's parents. Additionally, I think Jon's friend, Sjonni, brings a comedic element, as he is a complete drunk who spends half the movie trying to find his clothing. I found it rather comedic that a professor would have these kinds of friends and would want an alcoholic as an organist and a loon as a best man. It also showed how little Jon cared about the wedding and the haphazard nature of Jon's relationships outside of his marriage.As I mentioned before there are flashbacks that show Jon's past relationship with Anna intermediately between Jon and Thora's wedding. There were several cinematic techniques that were used to emphasize this contrast. For example, when there were flashbacks the lighting changed to a duller yellowish/sepia tint whereas the present showed colors that were bright and clear. I felt like this contrast emphasized Jon's perspective and how he felt bored and trapped with Anna but had hope for his future with Thora. The director also used a lot of natural light which emphasized Jon's perspective. For example, on the night before Jon's marriage, the sun never goes down and Jon continues to talk about new beginnings. It looks almost as if Jon can live in this timeless capsule where the day never ends nor begins. However, this timeless and hopeful imagery is shortly shattered in the flash forward to Thora and Jon's actual marriage; which ends up being just as boring and loveless as his previous one. Along with contrasts in lighting there is also a contrast between rural and urban setting as the characters move between both sceneries. The city is shown as slightly cramped and congested and the rural setting is isolated, picturesque, and spacious. I feel that these settings impacted Jon's attitude in various ways. For example, when Jon was in the city he appeared level headed with some deeper knowledge about the world, but while in the rural setting Jon's emotions fluctuate frequently and he has no real reason to his actions. Overall I felt like the main character had a narcissistic personality and a stuck up demeanor when approaching his relationships. This aspect of the movie definitely detracted me from enjoying the film. That being said, I did appreciate the comedic effect the movie had despite the dark subjects of adultery, mental illness, and loveless marriages. I would recommend this movie for anyone who enjoys dark humor, outrageous characters, and tragic drama.

White Night Wedding is not your typical romantic comedy. Set on a scenic remote island off of Iceland, the movie does have some of the qualities expected in classic Hollywood fare, such as eccentric characters, passionate lovers, and a wildly dramatic wedding scene. However, unlike Hollywood, director Baltasar Kormákur chooses to realistically portray his characters, complete with the starkness of unhappy marriages, the skeletons of broken dreams, and an entire kaleidoscope of mental quirks which are near, in some cases, to insanity. The movie is loosely based on the play Ivanov, by Anton Chekhov, and as the movie unfolds, it becomes apparent that themes of debt and marrying for money, as well as the temptation of suicide, are carried over from Chekhov's work. The movie was critically acclaimed and won seven Edda awards in Iceland. It is no surprise White Night Wedding was so popular, as it's witty combination of love, despair, and lunacy are interwoven seamlessly on the breathtaking island of Flatey.Love abounds in the film, in all of its varying stages. Indeed, as the movie progresses, we see it take the shape of puppy love between soon-to-be newlyweds, guilt-ridden love between an aging couple, and despairing, persistent love between Anna and Jon. Rather than confine White Night Wedding to a single, stereotypical romance, Kormákur depicts human emotions as they truly are: wild and changing as the sea surrounding the island of Flatey. All emotional extremes are mapped throughout the plot of this movie. The audience is captivated and saddened by Anna's desperate, and increasingly manic attempts to cling to her distant husband, while at the same time allured by Thora's flirtatious behavior and equally shocked by the dramatic discovery of their affair. We are simultaneously immersed in the marriage of Thora's parents, Larus and Sisi, who each are so wounded and blinded that they cannot comfort or support each other. Sisi is brutally absorbed in money, so much that her loyal husband Larus is left uncomforted to nurse his own unfulfilled dreams of becoming a famous opera singer. Throw in an uptight hairless priest, an overweight jovial best man, Thora's introverted, irritable sister, and a scrappy delusional golf-course owner, and the plot has expanded to encompass a motley group of characters all in the never-ending search of love and happiness.Despair also plays a key role in the movie, as a stark contrast to the jovial celebration in preparation for the wedding. Frequent flashbacks to Jon's previous marriage with an unstable, and desperate wife blur the lines between present and past. Anna's depression and metal problems are constantly on the edge of the plot, and are depicted in the form of pill bottles and hysteria without a clear diagnosis. The pity we may feel for Jon coming home to a dead swan in the garbage and seaweed placed throughout the house is equally tempered by the sympathy we feel for Anna, who is abandoned and cheated on by her silent husband. It causes the audience to wonder where Anna's mental instability has come from. Is it possible Jon's neglect is the cause of her lunacy? We see a common theme of unrequited love surface. The more fervently Anna yearns for her husband to be present, physically and emotionally, the more he shuns her. As a final blow, after a failed attempt to seduce him to "roll in the grass naked" with her, she catches him doing exactly that with young, fierce Thora who is determined to marry Jon from the day she set eyes on him. Anna is driven to the depths of despair, and an ultimately tragic ending. The audience is left to wonder, will the same fate will someday befall Thora? Finally, the eccentricities of the characters are especially prominent. Much like a dysfunctional family, the inhabitants of Flatey all share a wild white night before the wedding - which may be an allusion to the odd behavior of the characters in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. While Anna is the only person who is clinically labeled as mentally unstable, all of the characters exhibit strange behavior at some point throughout the night. From Sjonni's drunken revelry to Larus's nude opera in the sea, the audience finds themselves personally intertwined in the odd lives of Flatey's inhabitants. Through exquisite filming technique that balances between wide sweeps of scenery and intimate close-ups, many of the scenes in the film attain a dream-like quality which leaves the audience unsure of reality. In this way, while depicting and creating flawed, and brutally realistic characters, Kormákur uses filming techniques to create varying tones of surreal passion, grief, and chaos. The traditional Icelandic folk music perfectly complements the landscape to portray Icelandic culture and set this film apart from the stereotypical romantic comedy. Indeed, the passionate nudity, harsh suicide, and extreme quirkiness of the film all are qualities often absent in Hollywood but is a hallmark of starkly realistic Nordic cinema.

White Night Wedding leaves the audiences' minds spinning as we witness a wedding gone completely array. Baltasar Kormakur writes twisted story painted on the canvas of beautiful Iceland in complete juxtaposition to his first popular film 101 Reykjavik. As the movie unravels we witness the life of a middle aged professor, Jon, as he recovers from the suicide of his first wife and learns to accept a commitment to his second wife. In interview, Kormakur states that theme of the movie is the search for happiness, which is mixed with a few twists, turns and road blocks. Even against the odds, Jon finds his happiness as the audience enjoys Kormakur's sense of humor along the way. This movie offers moments of laughter but also leaves the audience guessing at what will happen next. We, as viewers, are drawn in by the music and the beautiful landscape and at the same time, put off, by suicide and debt issues that are intertwined into a cinematic masterpiece.Nature evokes a great deal of emotion in this film and the symbolisms that accompany it are difficult to ignore. The first encounter the audience has with the drama surrounding nature is when Anna, Jon's first wife, strikes a swan with her car. We are met with the vivid image of crimson blood on white feathers. Shortly thereafter, the couple moves back to Anna's home town which is a small but charming island. Here, Anna's deep connection with nature comes alive. Though it is clear she is mentally unstable there is something charming about her devotion for nature. She tends to the sea like her garden when she creates a web of seaweed. In addition to Anna's devotion to nature, Kormakur frequently uses aerial shots of the island. Through these shots the audience is able to view the exquisite serenity of the Icelandic land.Other themes emerge throughout the film, such as the theme of infectious mental illness. We can see Anna's mental illness and how it leaches into the lives of others. Anna forces Jon to leave his position of professor because she longs to be home. After moving back to her home island she loses trust in Jon, and any love left in their marriage slowly fades. After Anna encounters Jon during a sexual affair with a previous student, Þóra, her depression worsens and she is driven to suicide. Jon, wears the weight of her suicide around like a heavy cloak. Though, his affair did not help his wife's depression, he blames himself fully for her death and repeatedly says that he killed her. This notion that he was responsible for sucking the life from Anna, is the barrier that stand between him and his love for Þóra. This debt that he feels to his deceased wife is not relieved until he flings himself into the sea where she committed suicide. Jon's debt does not end there however.Jon is also a debtor in the monetary sense. When Jon returns to the Iceland for his second marriage to Þóra he is sought out by his friends and family who hound him for money. We encounter his soon to be mother in law, shortly after arriving to the island. Immediately upon meeting her we can see that she is not pleased with his past actions. In fact he owes her a great deal of money for a golf course plan run amok. His mother doesn't trust his intentions with her daughter and is so hung up on his debt she can't see the devotion between Þóra and Jon. Nevertheless, this is not his only debt owed on the island. The morning of his wedding, Jon is awoken by breaking glass as golf balls are flung through his window. Börkur, an angry friend of Jon's is also here to collect a debt owed to him. From every angle, Jon is bombarded by his debts and his sins which again do not appear to be reconciled until his plunge in the ocean.Quite possibly my favorite theme in the movie, is that of music. Music seems to permeate all areas of this film. The first experience we have with music being performed in the film is through the musical talent of Anna. Anna requests that a piano be sent to her island home. Later it is during times of turmoil that we see her passionately playing. Other characters are deeply involved in music also. Lárus, the soon to be father in law of Jon sings beautiful opera throughout the film. My favorite scene is most definitely his early morning dip where he awakens the inhabitants of the island with is booming operatic voice.There is also a great deal of parallel between the "old" life of Jon with his deceased wife and his new life with Þóra. About half of the movie is made up of flashbacks, these flash backs are presumably the memories of Jon. At times it is difficult to differentiate between the present and the past. This is done to portray the stark difference between Anna and Þóra and the difference between past unhappiness and current happiness. This is enforced by the dreary and dark weather of past scenes compared with the bright scenes of the present. At the same time this is in contrast with the static portrayal of the island and its people. The audience can see that life for Jon changes dramatically while the small sleepy town remains consistent and folksy. This theme of rural life is a common theme in many Icelandic films.In conclusion Kormakur puts on a great show. Though this film is not similar to his past success, 101 Reykjavik, it holds its own position in his collection of films. The message of a search for happiness is theme that most can relate with. Along with this the audience enjoys the gorgeous nature in the film and beautiful music. All elements in combination make a quite striking film.

hi I'm Icelandic (this comment is biist because i hate the director) this movie is an insult to all movie's.it's a tragedy tale were the only remotely enjoyable characters are in the background,you don't feel for the main character because most of the time your'e just too bored.the main character is in a dangerous situation he owes his soon-to-be-in-laws money and knows that if he leaves his fiancé her parents are gonna make him own so he's in a challenging situation to stay with the fiancé when he doesn't like her and being trapped or leave having to confront his debt.the character has no character he just goes in a depressed state considers suicide he stays with her trapped,sad then a depressing scene.movie over