Woman at War  ★★★½

ICELANDIC film Woman at War is at pains not to be confined to a specific genre.

It’s part drama, thriller and comedy, a difficult combination that has brought many previous films undone.

But, apart from one glaring aspect, writer/director Benedict Erlingsson manages the delicate balance to deliver a constantly entertaining and engaging tale.

The first thing that strikes you is the look of the film. This isn’t your usual depiction of Iceland, icy tundra giving way to wind-swept green expanses beautifully framed and photographed in wide shot.

It’s here that we meet unlikely environmental activist Halla, using bow and arrow to short out the power supply feeding an aluminum factory operating on the outskirt of her home town.

I say ‘unlikely’ because Halla maintains her activism behind the veneer of a typically quiet middle-aged existence in which her biggest claim to fame is conducting the local choir. The only person aware of her double life is the government official secretly divulging information and encouraging her efforts.

Those efforts aren’t just annoying, they’re downright dangerous for Halla and severely detrimental to the company that she is determined to bring down.

But then she is suddenly thrown a curve ball that causes her pause. Should she complete her activist mission or pursue a different, more personal path in life.

If this sounds a little heavy, it’s not. As a drama, Woman at War defies conventions with Erlingsson bringing an uniquely Icelandic sensibility to his examination of social verses individual responsibility, using quirky and absurdist humor to counter-balance weighty themes.

This works well when the comic moments are part of the narrative and provide interesting asides – bungling authorities keep arresting an innocent tourist constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time; mobile phones are placed in the freezer to prevent the authorities from eavesdropping on conversations; a farmer’s dog answers to the name ‘Mother’.

But, and this is my only major problem with the film, he also uses one particular device over and over again that ultimately becomes a distraction taking you out of the film. You will know exactly the one I mean.

Halldora Geirharosdottir gives a tremendously natural and heart-felt performance in the lead role of Halla and dominates the audience’s sympathies. Of the supporting cast, Johann Siguroarson is particularly effective as a farmer, Sveinbjorn, who assists Halla in evading the authorities.

Woman at War is Iceland’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at next year’s Academy Awards. With only five films from around the World able to make the final list of nominations, it’s an outside chance.

Woman at War is showing at the Perth International Film Festival. You can see it from 17-23 December at UWA Somerville or 24-30 December at ECU Joondalup Pines.