DANCE, THE

English Title: DANCE, THE

Nuptial ceremonies seemed to on the minds of adventurous moviegoers especially in 2002, with the popularity of India's “Monsoon Wedding,” Israel's “Late Marriage,” and a certain Big Fat Greek affair. While it has taken four years to reach these shores, Iceland's THE DANCE also offers cause for celebration. It's a lyrical, elegiac comedy-drama set in 1913, in the storm-tossed Faroe Islands in the Atlantic, where hardy villagers gather for the imminent union of beautiful, headstrong Sirsa and the local deacon's son Harald. This is one of the few occasions on which staid Faroese can loosen their tight, Victorian collars and dance with the opposite sex, but there are complications. In the background looms Ivor, Sirsa's longtime suitor, who confidently claims he still has a hold over her heart. Ill omens and supernatural portents precede the wedding, too often giving Ivor the chance to flaunt his gallantry and courage in public. Meanwhile Sirsa will not let anything cast a shadow over her merriment, not even the presence of a dead Englishman from a wrecked ship or the glowering disapproval of the deacon. It was as though the Devil himself came to the wedding, remembers Sirsa's brother Peter, as the young side against the old, the religious against the libertine, and an outdated social order begins to lose its grip on a new century. In short, when it comes to THE DANCE, just say “I do.” (In Icelandic with English subtitles)