The Sea

REVIEW
When Thordur Agustsson (Eyjolfsson) calls his grown children home to discuss his fish processing business, each one arrives with suspicion. Thordur is not a man of kind words nor does he give of himself freely. The eldest son Haraldur (Skulason) is browbeaten both by his father and his screeching, drunkard wife as he plods ineptly through his father’s business, her husband and apathetic teen son care only for their material possessions and the youngest son Agust (Gudnason) has been writing love songs for his pregnant girlfriend Françoise (de Fougerolles) in Paris where he was supposed to be studying business. Mix in the smoking grandmother and Thordur’s second wife Kristin, his deceased first wife’s sister and the dysfunctional family really begins to take shape. There are shades of abuse, incest and an oft referred to rape thrown in rendering the characters unpleasant and yet each has their charms. With the family gathered, old hurts get dragged back into the light and some shocking secrets are revealed. Each fault is laid bare and irreversible damage is done. “The Sea” is a disconcerting look into the abyss of a decaying family but does offer some truly funny moments that help move the picture along and adds levity in an otherwise dark undertow. Like a bad accident, it is difficult to watch but you just can not turn away.