Frozen Land

Directed by Aku Louhimies, Finland, 2004, 127 mins

Winner, Golden Owl Award, Leeds Film Festival, 2005
Special Jury Prize, Moscow International Film Festival, 2005
Jury Prize, Bergen International Film Festival, 2005

Opens Friday 13 October 2006

Set against the backdrop of an iced-over contemporary Finland, and based on Leo Tolstoy's 'False Note', Frozen Land takes you on a journey through a strikingly bleak and occasionally blackly funny world, where money's the goal and drink abounds, and where loneliness and desperation push people to the edge of their lives and sanity. A brilliantly devised web of interconnecting fates, Frozen Land is an intense, fast-paced depiction of a gritty Helsinki, which bounces between stories and characters' lives, set into motion by the printing of a forged 500 Euro note. Semi-improvised dialogue and gripping visuals form the compelling backdrop for an exceptionally powerful ensemble of performances, from a pair of young computer hackers and a depressed policewoman, to a mullet-haired car thief and a vacuum salesman and recovering-alcoholic, who falls off the wagon with a vengeance.