WATCH Jar City

I recently bought a Roku box, which allows Netflix subscribers to watch instantly lots of movies and television shows on their TV. You need an internet connection, either hard-wired or wifi. It’s really great for older movies and foreign films as well. Newer films tend to broadcast very well, while older ones can appear pixilated. Roku has other “stores,” so you can also view films from Amazon, etc.

We don’t get to see many Icelandic films, so I was curious about Jar City. It’s a mystery about the murder of an old man that leads a detective to reopen a case that's been cold for over 20 years. A second detective, working on a case involving the desecration of a graveyard, soon realizes that the two cases are linked. It also deals with genetic mapping, medical confidentiality, and xenophobia in Icelandic society.

While violent and graphic at times, the MPAA-unrated Jar City (2006) was both exciting and moving. The desolation of the Icelandic scenery reminded me of that in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Wallander series on PBS. (Does the sun ever shine in these places?) Based on the novel by Arnaldur Indrioason, this is a taught thriller. It’s one of the very few films I’ve rated as 5 stars on Netflix.