COLD FEVER

It's a pleasure to welcome a treat from Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, whose “Movie Days” (19th CIFF, 1995) and “Children of Nature” (17th CIFF, 1993) confirmed his eminence in the young, thriving Icelandic film industry. But nothing could prepare you for the wry, world-grinding wit in COLD FEVER, a deadpan road comedy. Tokyo salaryman Atsushi reluctantly cancels his tropical Hawaiian golf holiday to instead perform a long-neglected ritual for his parents on the spot where they died – the frigid shore of a remote Icelandic river. Arriving in Iceland in midwinter, the shivering Japanse is shanghaied by German tourist, buys a psychic's frozen car, poses for a self-described “funeral collector,” and joins an American couple arguing with each other via hand puppets. And then there are the ghosts… Fridriksson's glorious Iceland is a mystic, merry realm where mischief and miracles make Atsushi's vacation-in-Hell an uplifting spiritual pilgrimage after all. Watch for a cameo by cult filmmaker Seijun Suzuki.