Black Ice (2007)

One of my all time favorites.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Never once was there a dull, uneventful moment during the film, "Black Ice". Finish director, Petri Kotwica successfully pieces together an exceptional, suspenseful, and riveting film about Saara, a middle-aged woman, seeking revenge on her cheating husband, Leo, an architect and professor, and Tuuli, the student and "girlfriend" of Leo. The ultimate question asked is, How far does one go to achieve revenge? Saara finds out about Leo's affair the evening of her birthday, and the next day goes to visit him at his office to find an e-mail from Tuuli, the young student Leo has a "relationship" with. Saara finds a picture of Tuuli and where she lives on the campus and immediately goes to find her and follow her, ending up at the karate class Tuuli instructs. Without much thought, Saara has joined the beginner's class and from this initial encounter, the two women form a seemingly strong relationship, although Saara has introduced herself to Tuuli as a Christa Ericcson, in attempt to cover up her true identity. As this relationship progresses, Leo is attempting to juggle his relationships with Tuuli and Christa, eventually leading to utter chaos and devastation in each of their lives.Throughout "Black Ice" director, Petri Kotwica, draws upon various themes throughout the film, such as infidelity, sex/gender, revenge, and betrayal. While each of these major ideas are constantly seen during the movie, the theme of betrayal seems to be emphasized, as it was the basis of many decisions each character made amidst the suspenseful events. Including Saara's discovery of her husbands affair, Leo ending his relationship with Tuuli, his flirtatious actions at the costume party, and Tuuli's realization of Christa's real identity, each of these moments and others depict the extent to which humans prioritize their needs and feelings before others regardless of the effect it has on the people around them. In congruence with the overarching theme of betrayal, the reoccurring idea of seeking revenge drives many of the events that end in betrayal. As Saara seeks revenge on Tuuli for sleeping with Leo, the seemingly strong and "true" friendship Saara (Christa) and Tuuli form is completely destroyed, leaving Tuuli amidst feelings of complete betrayal by Saara. The revenge and betrayal we witness in "Black Ice" constantly reminds the audience just how brutal humanity can be when people are stuck in extremely emotional states.The love triangle story line is a perfect situation to be able to explore humans in instances of revenge and betrayal. While Saara (Christa) is forming a strong connection to Tuuli, Saara'a love for Leo is back and fourth the more she learns about her husband's secrets, as Tuuli's love for Leo is crushed and slowly fades once he breaks up with her and then see's him at the costume party with other students. Leo attempts to juggle both of his relationships, eventually ending in betrayal by both of them. In comparison to Hollywood films, there is nothing quite like the love triangle depicted in "Black Ice".The plot was extremely interesting and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, impatiently waiting to see what would happen next. The skillful use of foreshadowing by Kotwica gets the viewer guessing what will happen next, however the creative and unique plot made it so the unraveling of the events was always unexpected. Throughout the film, I never knew what was going to happen next, which carried the plot along enabling the suspenseful and thrilling scenes to build on each other, ultimately making the end of the film to leave the viewer in shock. The acting and story line was extremely well done and added to the element of suspense, but I think the music and sound effects used throughout the film that truly instilled suspenseful and thrilling feelings in me as the events unfolded. The music allows for the viewer to connect emotionally with what was happening on screen. For example, while Saara was stalking Tuuli in the beginning of the movie, from being in her residence hall on campus to following her as she rides her bike to the karate studio, the suspenseful, slightly creepy music made me feel as if I was stalking Tuuli as well. The connection the music creates with the audience and events on screen amplifies the emotional response the viewer has to each scene.Finish films being known for their tragic and devastating endings, "Black Ice" not only captures devastation in the end, but also a shock factor triggering much emotion that makes it a must see.

Marital tension is not limited to any part of the world. Many couples experience problems that create stress and may lead to cheating. In his 2007 film "Black Ice," Petri Kotwica depicts a stereotypical cheating husband, however, he twists the story by adding a relationship between the hurting wife and oblivious mistress. The unique variation on this relatively familiar situation creates intrigue that transcends both language and culture, making "Black Ice" a captivating and edgy film for any audience, Finnish or not.A unique aspect of Black Ice is how quickly the plot gets going once the film has begun. After a short burst of romance between Saara and Leo, secrets start coming out and the tension begins. In some ways, leaving out the general introduction to Saara and Leo's relationship leaves something to be desired. It makes it difficult to relate to Leo at all because we are instantly introduced to his faults as a husband. However, this is very effective in that it puts us entirely on Saara's side, and introduces us to the discomfort of relational tension. Our lack of information somewhat reflects Saara's unfamiliarity with her new situation having been betrayed and ultimately separating from her husband. The genre of the film also contributes to the tension. While this story could be told through a simple drama or even romantic comedy, it is presented in the style of a psychological thriller. The characters are forced into uncomfortable and unusual situations that they press through given their unique circumstances. They face unwelcome friendships, relationships, sexual experiences, conversations, and more. Many people may struggle with the characters' actions, thinking that they, themselves, would deal with the situation more honestly as to avoid the deception and discomfort experienced, however the film does an excellent job of showing how very normal people can act wildly when put under extreme duress. In addition to style and plot is the soundtrack. Cellist Eicca Topinen's experience with Apocalyptica shows through in her intensely emotional instrumental score, which drives the film's tension home. Slow, minor chords blend and create an uncanny sense of unease, which becomes more obvious as the film progresses. The first noticeable instance of this musical discomfort is when Saara finds and follows Tuuli, and as each secret that comes out, the eerie theme comes back, stronger and stronger each time. While the whole film really supports the thrilling and uneasy impression, a few scenes are crucial. It starts with Saara finding the condoms at the very beginning. Her conflicting smile and admonition create a contradiction that sets the viewer on edge. This contradiction is further developed as we experience Saraa's ability to compartmentalize and create an intimate relationship with her husband's lover throughout the film. This ability to more or less let go of her emotions completely alienates her in addition toe the cheating Leo and Tulli. Other particularly tense moments include Saraa's first interaction with Tuuli, the morning at Tuuli's home where Saraa and Leo nearly cross paths, the party where Tuuli confronts Lea, Saraa's attempt to examine Tuuli which turns into a homosexual sex scene, Leo's death, Tuuli's attack on Saraa at the martial arts class, and Tuuli falling down the stairs. And those are just the especially tense moments. This goes to show how many small instances of tension are interwoven between them.One thing that the film could have done better was to organize some plot elements more cleverly. Tuuli seeing Lea and thinking it was Saraa, Saraa's restraining order keeping Tuuli out of the hospital, and sparring in the martial arts class all seemed fairly inevitable after the plot devices were introduced. While the setups were interesting and enthralling, they were at times predicable, which makes the film less fun to experience.A final element that I especially liked was how this film exemplified the idea that if someone wrongs you, they should take the heat, not their ignorant accomplices. For example, Leo is the one who is cheating. While Tuuli is knowingly helping him commit adultery, she is not personally connected with Saraa and thus has no emotional reason to stop. This is what Saraa seems to realize as the film progresses, which enables her relationship with Tuuli to flourish. Personally, I found the film impressive and exhilarating. The psychological thriller genre strongly appeals to me, as it makes you think about how twisted the seemingly ordinary human mind can be. No matter how much you think you can plan for life, you never know how things will actually transpire when they go south. While there are plot elements that could have been executed more cleanly, the film is representative of how realism can seem almost supernatural with the right circumstances, people and, in the case of film, music.

An explosion of Champaign sets the mood as laughter fills the room, she walks in with piercing eyes and a beautiful smile. She begins to inflate a piece of what seems to be "birthday party décor". As she blows air into the balloon she holds a questionable grin on her face, as this balloon fills with air the audience soon realizes that is not a balloon, but a condom. Using the condom as a metaphor to reveal to her husband Leo and his family that she is aware of the affair that he is having, Saara patiently glared into Leo's eyes with an eyebrow raised expecting an explanation. Throughout this scene the camera switches to a female character spying on Leo and his family. Soon this character is revealed as Tuuli, a student of Leo's and the female that he is also having an affair with. As Saara gains more insight on her husband's betrayal, I could not help but wonder who the victim is, who should be blamed, or who is right.In many Norwegian films there are common themes which include sex, betrayal, alcohol, and smoking. This film does not shy away from these common themes. These themes I feel as though they are all used as a way to escape what is really going on. Saara, Leo, and Tuuli, all seem to be going through an identity crisis. Leo believes that he wants to be married to Saara, but cannot give up his addiction to other. Tuuli, believes that she is in love with a guy but tries to live around the fact that he is married to another woman. Saara wants to be happy with her husband and tries to achieve this sense of happiness by destroying the life of Tuuli. She fails at this due to her becoming friends with Tuuli and Tuuli learning her true identity. Seeing that this Love triangle was doomed to fail, as an audience you could only expect what each character will do once they realize they are being betrayed by the ones that they trusted. The common occurrences of alcohol and smoking, makes it seem as though each character had their own addictions. In most of the movie you could find Saara with a cigarette in her hand. I found this as a stress reliever for her seeing that she was under pressure the most. Tuuli on the other hand was viewed as a young girl similar to many young students who went to school partied and drank. Leo was the character who I believe was addicted to sex. As long as he could have sex he would be happy. He realized that he was losing Saara but he could not be without sex. In the scene where he and Saara had lunch together he could not restrain himself from staring at the waiters butt. Right after he was caught by Saara, he pleaded for her to come back and be with him.Sitting at the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end of this movie, chills flowed through my body making my heart pound in nervousness and mind flow with confusion. I was not sure what I was feeling throughout this movie, and I was not sure if I was supposed to know how to feel throughout this movie. Although I felt sorry for Saara, and somewhat understood Tuuli, I could not help but to hate Leo seeing that he was the reason all of this happened. When his body was found froze in the woods I could not help but to think that this is where he belonged and this was what his character role was for.Intense is just one of the many words that can be used to describe how this film is. Entertaining to say the least this movie was worth the hour and thirty minute airing time. Convincing actors, quality picture and sound fits in great with a masterpiece story that will grab and hold your attention and having talking about it through the next couple of days. As I Stated in the tittle a love triangle of heart breaking betrayal is to say the least.

European cinema, eh? Where would we be without it? Its reputation for stripping the central characters down to bare flesh (figuratively and literally) to probe their dark recesses won't be done any disservice by Musta Jää, that's for goddam sure. The reviews which pulled me into the cinema featured buzzwords such as "entertaining and thought-provoking", yet somehow I came away from this film feeling like I had myself been violated (and not in a good way). You'll know the basic plot from the other reviews, so lemme say why I don't think it works.First off, the protagonists are simply not credible. Look at Saara's character arc - from madly-in-love, 40-year-old respectable OBGYN to borderline nutjob near-divorcée who is happy to shtup (significantly younger) men and women alike. And for all her knowledge of psychology, she seems all too able to disassociate cause and effect - she wants her husband's girlfriend to "disappear", to "never have existed", even though it's clear the problem is not the existence of the girlfriend but the existence of the husband.And what is it with Leo? Played by 46 year old pock-faced, slack-buttocked actor Martti Suosalo, the guy is sold to us as prime slice of Finnish beefcake, irresistible to women dozens of years younger than him because he professes architecture at the local polytech. Am I the only one that has doubts here? Maybe so, as even Tuuli (the girlfriend, competently played by Ria Kataja) finds Leo "amazing" and openly embarks on a year-long affair with him (incidentally, of all the pork scenes in this movie, not once do we see her banging Leo - no complaints here). But Leo's just not that bright or charismatic to warrant the multiple women supposedly ensnared by him. Suasalo's low-rent-Gary-Oldman turn sells us a dumb schmoe who's unable to keep his pants on. What's so thought-provoking about that?Ultimately, though, the behaviour portrayed in this film is well worth a head-scratch or two. The threesome in this love triangle repeatedly bounce back towards one another in circumstances where each one of them should do a Paavo Nurmi and run a mile, yet Petri Kotwica doesn't really explore why they do this or offer any justification for it. They are just three spinning tops in a bowl, circling and clashing until each falls down - the demise of Leo seems unsurprising, totally justified and 90 minutes too late, and when Kotwica employs a deus ex machina to arrive at the only truly tense scene at the end of the movie (Tuuli under Saara's knife), the result seems contrived.Notwithstanding the beautiful scenery and haunting music, this is a difficult movie to recommend.