“Mýrin” translates as “swamp”, but I think it is the name of a village that the subtitles translate as “Northern moors”. The international title of this Icelandic thriller is “Jar City” which is a reference to an uncanny element of the film. The film tells two stories, one is of a father who looses his daughter to some disease, the other about a policeman investigating a murder (a “typical gruesome and unnecessary Icelandic murder”, a phrase that I recognise from another film I believe). Of course both trails lead to the same point. “Mýrin” is hardly a thriller, but a dark and pressing drama looking into a depressive side of Icelandic society. It took a while before I came to see who was who, which is nicely done. There are some impressive shots of the Icelandic landscape and its harsh climate. Not a great film, but a moody one.
