Konterr Brilliant and touching

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

avik-basu1889 This is a well made film with vibrant cinematography, good direction and staging and a good central performance by Stellan Skarsgård which lends a bit of mystique to the character of the Jonas, the protagonist. But having said that I was underwhelmed by 'Insomnia'. As a matter of fact, having already seen Nolan's version, I'd have to say I prefer the remake over the original.Erik Skjoldbjærg's 'Insomnia' is a film ripe with nihilism just like a lot of crime-noirs. However unlike the dark and dreary visual texture that most noir films are known for, Skjoldbjærg plants his ideas of nihilism in the vibrant and inescapable sunlight of the Norwegian Arctic.After the accidental killing of his partner, we see Jonas leave no stone unturned to cover up the reality and consequently go through intense inner struggle with his conscience never leaving him alone just like the bright sun. However this particular struggle feels a bit hollow and less effective than the same struggle that Pacino's character undergoes in Nolan's remake because of a specific story element. In the remake, right from the beginning, the relationship between Pacino's character and his partner is established to be one of mutual animosity. Hence when he accidentally kills his partner, he goes through an inner crisis and self doubt about whether it really was an accident or whether he subconsciously carried out one of latent desires. The animosity between the two also gives Pacino's character a genuine reason to hide the reality in order to avoid any fledgling doubts in the minds of the others. In Skjoldbjærg's film the relationship between Jonas(Skarsgård) and his partner is normal and friendly. Hence due to the absence of any animosity in the relationship, Jonas' decision to hide the reality of what happened to his partner in the crime scene seems hollow and unreasonable. We are given subtle hints that maybe an inherent darkness and propensity for the immoral has always been inside Jonas and this particular incident triggers his deep descension. We see Jonas fall further and further into the depths of iniquity, similar to the protagonist's actions in 'Bad Lieutenant', but without its running theme of self-loathing which made 'Bad Lieutenant' poignant.In the end, 'Insomnia' is a well made, but hollow film which is willing to show unreasonable nihilism without a rich exploration of the characters. Unfortunately, it's a bit forgettable.

Neddy Merrill Jonas Engstrom is not enjoying his business trip to northern Norway. Several problems plague him, he can't sleep because of the 24 hour daylight, the murderer he was brought into apprehend is steeped in police procedure (damn you CSI!) and he accidentally shot his partner and good friend and left him to die on a foggy, barren ice field. That last thing really put a damper on the trip. To really enjoy the film, you have to keep in mind Engstrom is a remarkably smart detective and ignore the fact that had he just requested to move to a hotel room without a window and been upfront about the accidental shooting (which even the murderer points out to him) everything would have worked out fine. The film feels like it gives you a lot longer than its 96 minute run time to practice your suspension of disbelief skills yet somehow after the last cheesy special effect that ends the movie you feel like you watched an episode of a British detective procedural rather than a theatrical release.

Robert J. Maxwell Two Swedish policemen, one of them Stellan Skarsgard, arrive in northern Norway to help solve the murder of a high-school girl. The killer is almost trapped but escapes into the fog along the shore. By mistake, Skarsgard shoots and kills his partner. He invents a story in which the girl's murderer shot his partner. Later he's invited by the girl's killer to meet at an isolated place. The two agree to pin the murder on the dead girl's boyfriend, an obnoxious kid anyway. But Skarsgard, plagued by his conscience and the midnight sun, has been unable to sleep and makes an attempt to capture the killer. The killer clobbers Skarsgard and then accidentally falls to his death. A Norwegian policewoman has figured out roughly what went on but contemptuously allows Skarsgard to go back home where, it is fondly hoped, he'll be able to sleep again, although we are left with grave doubts about that. The final freeze frame is of Skarsgard's face and everything fades to black except for his eyes, which are wide open and glow in the dark like an uneasy animal's.Stellan Skarsgard is just about perfect for the role of the insomniac cop. He always looks half asleep anyway. He slouches around, placid, bookish, as if his mind were elsewhere, maybe in wonderland. You can't ruffle him. When the murderer shoots off his shotgun into the plaster ceiling over his shoulder, Skarsgard simply moves his head to the side with an expression of mild distaste. I show more animation when the dentist says, "Turn this way a little." It's a slow film though, a story of intrigue and character, rather than a who-dunnit with a lot of ancillary action. What I mean is that it's quite different from the American remake that starred Al Pacino. Pacino is equally good at projecting exhaustion but in a very different way.The logic in this film isn't as clear as that in the remake. Here, Skarsgard can have absolutely no motive for shooting his partner of more than a year. In the remake, Pacino's partner was about to squeal on him for some irregularities to Internal Affairs. And here, all it takes is a single phone call for Skarsgard to agree to meet the killer. Pacino had to listen to Robin Williams sympathize with him about his insomnia. And Pacino's hallucinations were far more vivid -- a massive truck bearing down on him in his lane -- while Skarsgard's are more subtle -- a glimpse of his dead partner's face staring through a window. The remake is palpably "American". It ends with a shoot out that Williams' heavy has never shown himself capable of. Shotguns and pistols bark. Seaside fishing shacks are blown to smithereens. So is Williams, while Pacino dies after a few parting words. The European original ends with a dying fall and an ambiguous hint of things to come. (Those glowing eyes.) Neither film is a masterpiece. They both fit nicely into the generic frame of the guilty cop movie. And in some ways I prefer the remake. It's pace is faster and the characters' motivations are explored in greater depth, and finally it makes more sense. But that stupid final shoot out works against it and it is, after all, not the original, so it gets no bonus points.

ccthemovieman-1 This Norwegian film was re-made for English-speaking audiences in 2002 and starred Al Pacino. This original one starred Stellan Skarsgard, an equally well- known actor of Europe.Critics usually favor the first version of any movie than is re-made, and they are more likely to favor a European version. Sometimes they are correct, but not here. The re-make, although nothing super, is still better than this version, although isn't bad.Europeans would like this version more because of its ambiguity and moodiness, which they (and elitist U.S. critics) think makes it more attractive to the "cerebral." Entertainment-wise, this version simply isn't as interesting....and it IS the "entertainment business," after all.The ending of this Norwegian film also leaves one unsatisfied, but the filmmakers did a nice job of portraying paranoia and the good-vs-evil nature of us human beings. Skarsgard does a wonderful job in that respect. He exhibits such a look of a haunted, depressed man!