Inspired by the style of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher films (the executive producer), Black's Game reflects the increasing violence in the Icelandic crime and drug scenes of the 1990s. It all starts with Stebbi meeting his childhood friend Tóti.
Reykjavik, 1999. A man is interrogated by the police. He was arrested the previous night after a fight. Stebbi can’t remember a thing about it - blind drunk again. In front of the police station smoking a cigarette, Stebbi meets his childhood friend Tóti, a no-nonsense guy with an enormous tattoo on his bald head, a goatee and frightful eyes. 'If you have any problems, just give me a call,' Tóti says, handing him a card.
Then Stebbi finds himself in a world of tough guys, athletic drug dealers, stunning blondes, mountains of coke, truckloads of ecstasy and other designer drugs, robberies and slaughter. The frames are askew, sometimes in split-screen. The colour pallet of this adrenaline-pumping crime thriller is dominated by the black of the night, the white of the snow and the red of the blood that flows copiously. In a voice-over, Stebbi provides a dry commentary.
'Inspired by some shit that actually happened', it says at the start of Black’s Game, the feature debut by Óskar Thór Axelsson. Based on the bestselling Icelandic gangster story Black Curse by Stefán Máni, it was executive produced by Nicolas Winding Refn, director of the Pusher trilogy and the recent hit Drive.
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Als fan van de Pusher trilogie mocht deze film niet op mijn lijst ontbreken. De sfeer kwam in de buurt van Pusher 1, maar de film kreeg me net niet zo in de greep als de Pusher reeks. Toch zeker een score van 4/5. 5/5 zat er net niet in wat mij betreft.
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Webreview from ietwietwaaitweg on 06 February 13:03
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Mark as improper
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Concur with all three previous reviewers about the quality of this film w.r.t. acting and script. The story has a certain drive, keeping your attention for the whole duration. What we see unroll is a typical growth path for a young criminal, starting with something relatively innocent, continuing with something less benign, and from then on unable to leave the “circle”.
As a bonus we get a nice hint from the mentor-in-crime of our main character. When something unexpected happens, do the first thing that comes to mind, however strange it may be. Indeed he acts on that rule a few times, especially in the final scene. How that last scene ends exactly, is left open. That is not a real problem, this being the only logical wrapup for the story.
The final Q&A revealed that the footage was shot last May, but that the editing only finished last Monday. Having a fixed deadline in the form of this festival, was definitely needed to arrive at the finished product we saw today.
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Webreview from JvH48 on 02 February 19:06
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Mark as improper
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Fantastic movie! Fast, exciting and sometimes shocking. What a debut from director Oskar Axelsson and Thorvaldur Kristjansson the leading actor. There is definitely more good stuff to come from this crew. Bravo!
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Webreview from moviebuff on 02 February 18:07
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Mark as improper
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What a great movie! The music is very intense and in line with the scenes. Nice style of filming, excellent acting. This movie deserves a big audience.
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Webreview from Berry en Michel on 02 February 13:56
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Mark as improper
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I enjoyed this movie. It's a dark, violent thriller about 'some shit that actually happened'. Good actors, nice style of filming. Movie got a big applause at the end of the world premiere yesterday.
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Webreview from Rosy on 02 February 11:41
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Mark as improper
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