A White, White Day (2020) - Hlynur Pálmason

Psychological trauma related to grief and the thoughts of vengeance which can be derived by those seeking answers in times of extreme tragedy are excavated and examined through an incisive formalist framework in A White, White Day. The corrosive effect placing blame can have on those dealing with trauma, how this desire to find a responsible party for loss can obfuscate acceptance and understanding, restricting any semblance of peace one strives for in times of tragedy. The varied landscapes of Iceland create an immersive and transfixing aesthetic for this psychological story; the cold, hard rocks an ample juxtaposition of our main protagonist, a man who lets a desire for vengeance cloud his judgment and subvert his path towards any semblance of peace surrounding his wife's death. He needs someone to blame for this trauma, a way to deflect his own shortcomings as a husband and companion, and through his actions he ultimately becomes to realize acts of vengeance will not help fill this hole left behind.