- Insomnia (1997 film)
Infobox Film
name = Insomnia
caption =
imdb_rating =
director =Erik Skjoldbjærg
producer =Tomas Backstrom Petter Borgli Tom Remlov
writer = Erik SkjoldbjærgNikolaj Frobenius
starring =Stellan Skarsgård Gisken Armand Maria Bonnevie Bjørn Floberg Sverre Anker Ousdal
music =Geir Jenssen
cinematography =Erling Thurmann-Andersen
editing =Hakon Overas
distributor =First Run Features (US, 1998)The Criterion Collection (Region 1 DVD)
released =Norway :
14 March ,1997 United States :
29 March ,1998 UK :
13 November ,1998
runtime = 95 min.
country = Norway
language = Norwegian and Swedish
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
mpaa_rating =
tv_rating =
amg_id = 1:155004
imdb_id = 0119375"Insomnia" is a
1997 Norwegian film about a police detective investigating a murder in a town located above theArctic Circle . The detective arrives in the summer, during themidnight sun , and suffers frominsomnia . It was the film debut of directorErik Skjoldbjærg . The screenplay is byNikolaj Frobenius , and the soundtrack byGeir Jenssen (alias Biosphere).ynopsis
"Insomnia" tells the story of a cross-border collaboration between Swedish and Norwegian police to hunt down the killer of a fifteen-year-old girl in the city of
Tromsø far up in the Norwegian Arctic. The investigation goes horribly wrong when police officer Jonas Engström (Stellan Skarsgård ) mistakenly shoots his partner (Sverre Anker Ousdal ) and subsequently attempts to cover up his bungle. The title of the film refers to Engström's inability to sleep, the result of both his guilt and the relentless glare of the midnight sun.Themes
In the film, Engström is unable to sleep, partly due to relentless
guilt over recent and ongoing misdeeds, and partly due to the never-ending sunlight, which serves as an outward representation of that guilt. The film has been described as turning "film noir " conventions on their heads by using, in place of shadows and darkness, relentless sunshine and ubiquitous bright white fog to convey guilt and disorientation. The film noir theme is emphasized, as the film follows many of the other conventions from this genre. For instance the lone detective that doesn't follow rules, but develops a personal interest in the case and establishes connections with the villain.Remake
In
2002 , a U.S. remake was released, directed byChristopher Nolan and starringAl Pacino andRobin Williams .External links
*imdb title|id=0119375|title=Insomnia (1997)
* [http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=47&eid=4§ion=essay Criterion Collection essay by Peter Cowie]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.