Hafið (The Sea) (Havet) poster & wallpaper
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Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Hilmir Snaer Gudnason, Helene de Fougerolles, Kristbjörg Kjeld, Herdís Thorvaldsdóttir ... see more see more... , Guðrún Gísladóttir , Sven Nordin , Elva ??sk ??lafsdóttir , Sigurdur Skúlason , Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir , Hilmir Snær Guðnason

A family reunion staged to welcome an exiled relation turns out to be a study in tension and unpleasant feelings in this family drama. Thórdur (Gunnar Eyjólfsson) is the aging owner of a fishing busin... read more read more...ess that has seen better days. Working alongside Thórdur is his oldest son, Haraldur (Sigurdur Skúlason), who is convinced the business is doomed unless they upgrade and update their equipment. Haraldur also has to deal with his outspoken wife, Áslaug (Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir), who is convinced that both the business and their small Icelandic town are on their last legs. Meanwhile, Thórdur shares his home with Kristín (Kristbjorg Kjeld), who went from being his sister-in-law to his second wife; her daughter María (Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir); Thórdur's daughter, Ragnheidur (Gudrún Gísladóttir); her husband Morten (Sven Nordin); and Thórdur's often cranky mother, Kata (Herdís Thorvaldsdóttir). In the midst of all this family tension arrives Ágúst (Hilmir Snær Gudnason), Thórdur's youngest son, with his girlfriend Françoise (Hélène de Fougerolles) in tow. Ágúst has moved to Paris, where Thórdur has been helping his son pay for business school; however, Thórdur isn't aware that his son has quit school and wants to make a career for himself as a musician. Ágúst has also developed a bitter hatred of his former homeland, which hardly makes this family reunion any easier for the parties involved. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Hafid (aka The Sea) received its North American premier at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

69% liked it

359 ratings

Critics

51% liked it

53 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur

Release Date: September 13, 2002

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DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003

Stats: 36 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (36)

  • puffchunk
    January 15, 2008
    puffchunk
    It gets 3 stars because it had crazy Icelandic people yelling their Satan language at each other the whole time. Otherwise, it's a 2.5 star film about kids hating Iceland and their Dad, and one guy humps his half cousin half sister in a frozen ocean and they act like it's no big... read moregie. Too bad he'd not be able to breath, let alone get it up. Still, it's cool when this one scary lady picks up a cop with a fork lift and dumps him into the ocean.

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Critic Reviews

Lisa Kennedy
July 11, 2003
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

There is something willfully balanced about director- co-writer Baltasar Kormakur's vision of this imploding family. Full Review

Steven Rea
June 19, 2003
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A subzero saga where dysfunction and distress -- and large quantities of herring -- rule.

Andrew Sarris
June 13, 2003
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Funny and entertaining ... in an Icelandic sort of way. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
June 12, 2003
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The different tones don't always blend smoothly, but it's still a pretty compelling tale. Full Review

Ty Burr
June 6, 2003
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The potential for spiteful humor exists throughout the movie, but Kormakur keeps hooking into melodrama, and for that you need at least one sympathetic character in whom to invest. Full Review

Philip Wuntch
June 5, 2003
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

A likable movie about people who are anything but. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
May 30, 2003
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A particularly strong family drama, and the Icelandic setting helps, adding a touch of the exotic. Full Review

Roger Ebert
May 30, 2003
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Sea is overcrowded and overwritten, with too many shrill denunciations and dramatic surprises; we don't like the characters and, worse, they don't interest us.

Glenn Lovell
May 29, 2003
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News

A messy but thoroughly engrossing family saga that combines the brooding tone of Ingmar Bergman with the over-the-top skulduggery of Eugene O'Neill. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
May 29, 2003
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

It's an invigorating hybrid of soap opera and tragedy -- a wild Cat on a Cold Tin Roof, a fiery Cherry Orchard, a tragicomic King Lear on ice. Full Review

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