Trapped - Gefangen in Island

As an Icelandic contribution to the current popularity of Scandinavian crime dramas, the series Trapped is really great. What is more, I consider it probably the best Scandinavian crime drama I’ve seen so far. Iceland really showed off. Their most successful present director Baltasar Kormákur put together a group of the best Icelandic actors and actresses, wrapped it in a good and believable screenplay, which is not trying to unnecessarily shock, and the whole thing is set in one unnamed city in east Iceland. That is quite promising in itself. However, most of all, it immediately surprises with how many things to uncover this little town with barely a thousand inhabitants has to offer. One would not believe it. I have to say that this most expensive Icelandic film project is really worth your attention. An amazing crime drama! (14.01.2018)

On the one hand, I liked the way it was conceived - slow, kind of calm to a certain extent, but about the same as an avalanche slowly rolling out of the mud. In the end, it manages to grind, mainly because there are scenes that are definitely not pretty to watch. But the plot failed to excite me and I just kind of watched it without any real interest. (21.12.2017)

When in the mid-80s the Soviet Union and the United States were looking for a suitable place for a meeting between their highest officials, the initiation of peace talks on reducing nuclear arsenals and ending the Cold War, they eventually chose Iceland. A calmer and safer place with a pleasantly provincial atmosphere is hard to find. Moreover, the serial story does not take place in the metropolis of Reykjavik, but in a small settlement between the ocean and high mountains. The local police are more concerned with resolving neighborhood disputes and one could easily get the impression that they are almost unnecessary. The discovery of a human body in a fishing net represents a catalyst for events, during which ancient injustices, failures, and hatred come to the surface. It turns out that many of the inconspicuous and respected residents of the community have something to hide and fear. Not every visitor who arrives by ferry has honorable intentions, and a snowstorm that cuts off the settlement from civilization only adds to the atmosphere of fear and nervousness. Originally, I gave it only 4 stars because the series did not strike me as exceptional at first glance. At the same time, however, I acknowledged that it was honestly written and filmed. It is unequivocally a quality representative of Nordic crime drama with a distinct atmosphere and no flaws worth mentioning. But when I realized that the series was produced in a country with such a small population, I couldn't help but give out the fifth star. Iceland simply rocks... Overall impression: 90%. (11.04.2018)

Icelandic royal bastard of the ambitious British series Fortitude. The mutual similarity goes so far that at the time of all those western remakes of serial Nordic noirs, one would somehow expect the British to just take over. The striking similarity (style, themes, characters, atmosphere, etc.) cannot be purely coincidental. And Iceland wins this battle, not undisputed though. What works in his favor is the fact that the real Nordic depersonalized cold gloom does look more natural and somehow more captivating, namely intrusive cold, whining winds, snowy wide distances, rugged fjord, rising sea... No, this series is packed with impressive genius loci. His second big ace is that he cast a silent bear who "sometimes grunts" and is tortured by inner demons with an unresolved personal life in the lead role. Perhaps the most clichéd possible archetype of Nordic crime movie, however, is presented/performed here in such a way that a nicer guy would be really hard to find. Perhaps only Skarsgård's River has such a degree of empathy River. Undisputed weak points include another of the hallmarks of all Nordic noir, namely unjustifiably overcomplicated things and, despite it, the excessive transparency of it all, which however, it is largely given by sympathetic civility in motivations and actions. What would help is would be to make it shorter by removing on episode (not particular one, but in each episode there´s at leas one padding scene). Despite all of this, I'm very happy about the series and no matter how traditional Nordic crime brings all the weak and strong points that it entails, the distinctive Icelandic nature is still kind of fresh compared to especially the Danish similar movies. (22.06.2016)