BB.5

(out of 5)

Icelandic drama about a beautiful, mistreated servant girl in a rich 17th century household who runs away to live with a handsome doctor who practices unconventional medicine. After her first few days with him, she realizes that he’s a sadistic madman and she was better off where she came from, until it all comes to a dramatic head and she is unjustly blamed for his accidental death in a self-started house fire. The exceptional acting is to be noted, as is the convincing period detail, but you can never escape the feeling that this supposed heroine is constantly acting like an idiot on purpose, and getting herself into trouble she could well have avoided.

Pegasus Pictures, Zentropa Entertainments, Journal Filmproduktion

France/Germany/Norway/Iceland, 1995

Directed by Egill Edvardsson

Screenplay by Jon Asgeir Hreinsson, Snorri Þórisson

Cinematography by Snorri Þórisson

Produced by Snorri Þórisson

Production Design by Þór Vigfússon

Costume Design by Helga I. Stefánsdóttir

Film Editing by Steingrímur Karlsson