Woman at War

Name: Woman at War
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Released: March 1, 2019
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 81
Cast: Charlotte Bøving, Gunnar Bersi Björnsson, Halldór Halldórsson, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Haraldur Stefansson

2019

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	Your Score
6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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Woman At War (Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: March 1, 2019 | Not Rated

Starring: Charlotte Bøving, Gunnar Bersi Björnsson, Halldór Halldórsson, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Haraldur Stefansson, Helga Braga Jónsdóttir, Iryna Danyleiko, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Jörundur Ragnarsson, Juan Camillo Roman Estrada, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, Olena Lavrenyuk, Saga Garðarsdóttir, Solveig Arnaldsdottir, Sólveig Arnarsdóttir, Vala Kristin Eiriksdottir

Summary: Halla is a fifty-year-old independent woman. But behind the scenes of a quiet routine, she leads a double life as a passionate environmental activist. Known to others only by her alias “The Woman of the Mountain,” Halla secretly wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminum industry. As Halla’s actions grow bolder, from petty vandalism toHalla is a fifty-year-old independent woman. But behind the scenes of a quiet routine, she leads a double life as a passionate environmental activist. Known to others only by her alias “The Woman of the Mountain,” Halla secretly wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminum industry. As Halla’s actions grow bolder, from petty vandalism to outright industrial sabotage, she succeeds in pausing the negotiations between the Icelandic government and the corporation building a new aluminum smelter. But right as she begins planning her biggest and boldest operation yet, she receives an unexpected letter that changes everything. Her application to adopt a child has finally been accepted and there is a little girl waiting for her in Ukraine. As Halla prepares to abandon her role as saboteur and savior of the Highlands to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother, she decides to plot one final attack to deal the aluminum industry a crippling blow.… Expand

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 101 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Kenneth Turan

Feb 28, 2019

With a masterful melding of the serious, the comic, the ridiculous and the musical, Woman at War is joyful to experience though difficult to sum up. Read full review

Steve Pond

Nov 19, 2018

Woman at War is a beautiful hoot. Read full review

Brad Wheeler

Sep 12, 2018

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. Read full review

Wendy Ide

May 18, 2018

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. Read full review

Jim Slotek

Mar 12, 2019

Though the quirk is ladled on a little thick at times, Woman at War is a surprisingly crowd-pleasing film experience considering its subject matter. In style, Erlingsson evokes the playfulness of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki, and it seems impossible to film anything in Iceland without being hypnotized by the landscape. Read full review

Ben Lambert

Feb 25, 2019

It balances its various modes so carefully and efficiently that it achieves a graceful unity, if a strange one at that. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

May 18, 2018

It is an attractive and sympathetic performance from Geirharðsdóttir as Halla. Read full review

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User Reviews

rayjay

Aug 13, 2019

I have been to Iceland, and the film does a great job on featuring the landscape and people there. Interesting environmental film that's not entirely one-sided. Has some dry humor also.

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richardrad

May 24, 2019

Magnificent, witty, intelligent and soulful, Woman at War, featuring a superb performance by its lead actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, uses warmth and humor tell a a potentially chilling story. The film is both deeply serious and fun at the same time. Among the broader topics raised: TheMagnificent, witty, intelligent and soulful, Woman at War, featuring a superb performance by its lead actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, uses warmth and humor tell a a potentially chilling story. The film is both deeply serious and fun at the same time. Among the broader topics raised: The threat to the environment posed by giant multinational corporations and our collective need for energy. Has the globalism of everything gone too far, and how do citizens and local communities and nations find their place in a world of sweeping technological and economic change?… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

tonyGreen

Oct 19, 2020

A comedy drama with a genuine point. I found myself caring for, and worrying about the plight of the central character Beautifully and cleverly shot in Iceland. .

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Dan_B

Mar 12, 2021

(español / English)

**Extracto** Inclasificable, original película islandesa sobre una quijotesca activista ambiental y una decisión que cambiará su vida, con ecos del cine de Kusturica y que combina admirablemente el relato intimista con el cine de acción. Reseña(español / English)

**Extracto**

Inclasificable, original película islandesa sobre una quijotesca activista ambiental y una decisión que cambiará su vida, con ecos del cine de Kusturica y que combina admirablemente el relato intimista con el cine de acción.
Reseña
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**Reseña**:

Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) es una directora de coro islandesa cercana a los 50 y al mismo tiempo una solitaria activista ambiental que lleva adelante una serie de atentados para desalentar inversiones chinas en la contaminante industria local del aluminio. Pero una novedad que puede alterar radicalmente su vida privada entra en escena.

La película de Benedikt Erlingsson suma al carisma de su protagonista, varios rasgos de originalidad en su puesta en escena (que recuerda al cine de Kusturica), un humor seco (por momentos absurdo) típicamente nórdico, los hermosos paisajes islandeses (no como postal sino como marco necesario), una clara crítica a las industrias contaminantes y agudas reflexiones sobre el manejo de la agenda política y una lograda y curiosa integración de relato intimista con película de acción.

Halla es una mujer comprometida con su causa, quijotesca, que pone en juego su comodidad burguesa (con una importante demanda física para la actriz protagónica), frente a una encrucijada cuya resolución es conmovedora, en un filme con un desarrollo difícilmente previsible.

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**Abstract**

Unclassifiable, original Icelandic film about an quixotic environmental activist and a decision that will change her life, with echoes of Kusturica cinema, admirably combining intimate storytelling with action cinema.

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**Review**:

Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is an Icelandic choir director in her late fifties and at the same time a lonely environmental activist who carries out a series of attacks to discourage Chinese investment in the polluting local aluminum industry. But a novelty that can radically alter her private life enters the picture.

Benedikt Erlingsson's film adds to the charisma of its protagonist, various traits of originality in its staging (reminiscent of the Kusturica cinema), a dry humor (at times absurd) typically Nordic, the beautiful Icelandic landscapes (not as a postcard but as a necessary framework), a clear criticism of polluting industries and sharp reflections on the management of the political agenda and a successful and curious integration of an intimate story with an action film.

Halla is a woman committed to her cause, quixotic, who puts her bourgeois comfort at stake (with an important physical demand for the leading actress), faced with a crossroads whose resolution is moving, in a film with a development that is difficult to foresee.

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