and so off towards another adventure in the realm of less than celebrated films, look you see.
whilst i have quite a collection of critically acclaimed films sat here that i just haven't gotten around to finding time to watch it seems that i can, as point of fact, always find the time for things that some might consider not worth it. oh so very often it turns out that those who consider in such ways are right, but every now and then a gem gets screened.
the title of this particular post sort of gives the game away i suppose, but to clarify what i did indeed watch this time is close to being a gem.
Harpoon is what the film is called, with it also having the addendum title of The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre. although in some nations it seems it is just called by that added on or if you like addendum title alone.
we shall get to how i came to find out about this film and subsequently watch it shortly, but for now i am sure you want some plot details and that. as it turns out, however, pretty much all that you could wish to know of the plot is kind of in that addendum title which i seem to wrestle with.
so anyway, plot. after something of a start which is misleading, but isn't, but does eventually create a massive hole in the plot and a considerable continuity error, we get the plot proper. a bunch of tourists have come from around the world to Iceland (presumably Reykjavik in particular) to go out on a boat and see some whales. one thing leads to another, with "things" involving good reason to change boats more than once, and then the film becomes something of an ode to gratuitous violence and some rather disturbing sexual assault. as if, in respect of the latter, there was such a thing as non-disturbing.
how i came to watch Harpoon is a story which is just about as interesting as it is in fact not. bored one evening i attempted to watch a film, pictured above, called The Tortured. whilst the cover and the reviews suggested it would be just over an hour of sensational sex and violence, it turned out to be a rather dull and dreary attempt at a dark and depressing drama. very, very badly written and acted, too. whilst i switched it off after a few minutes, i am indebted to this disc for the fact that it had a trailer for Harpoon on it. as soon as i saw the trailer i pledged to see it. which i did, hence us being here.
so anyway, the film is totes demented. with Gunnar Hansen in the cast, presumably to catch the international audience, basically this is Texas Chainsaw or The Hills Have Eyes or similar shoved into Iceland. as in yes, the gist of the story is a bunch of people in a remote, desolate area are tormented, tortured and (mostly) killed by a bunch of hill billies of the most likely inbred nature.
considering the abiding lesson of this film is "never go to Iceland, the people there do not like foreigners and they will f*** you and kill you and not always in that order or in sequence" it is with interest that i note the Icelandic Film Commission in part financed this. along, strangely, with some UK types. by having some State sponsored funding in place, it's like the Icelandic government, or politburo or Supreme Leader or Emperor (i have no idea what their political system is) has decided that yes, this is the image of the nation they wish to project to the word.
at about one hour twenty minutes this film keeps your attention. that is if you quite like all the horror and scary stuff. the effects are pretty good and gruesome, with some aspects being unsettling and unpleasant to watch. as mentioned above, though, there's one huge plot hole in the film, unless one character really was sat talking with strangers for more than 24 hours before they got a call.
the film at one stage proudly announces that Iceland was the world's third "best" Whaling nation, but is now happy to be the third best nation for watching the whales, rather than killing them. if we take as a given that number one for both is probably Japan, not quite sure who would be second.
surely, every famous person ever to come out of Iceland is referenced in this film. this translates as yes, indeed, there is a reference to Bjork in the movie. you have been warned.
my overall investment in this film is ostensibly £1.51. or possibly £2.51, if you include the cost of the film that i bought and saw the trailer for this one on. indeed yes, i believe i completely got value off of it, although i suspect i shall not watch the film again.
as this film is some 8 or so years old i have no idea who this write up might benefit. perhaps, like me, you were unaware of it and now that you are it's a decision you have made to find it and have a bit of a gander at it. happy days if you do.
vertu frábær fyrir hvern annan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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