euroGary Thrown out of the marital home when his wife catches him watching a sex tape featuring him with a woman who is not her, the foolishly-tatooed Atli (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson) slinks back to the home of his parents, Inga and Baldvin (Edda Björgvinsdóttir and Sigurður Sigurjónsson). But they are distracted not only with mourning for Atli's brother, who disappeared many years ago, but also by a feud with their next-door neighbours (one of whom, I was delighted to realise, is played by Selma Björnsdóttir, runner-up of the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest!) The feud concerns a tree in Inga and Baldvin's garden which casts a shadow over the neighbours' lawn. As Atli goes about trying to win access to his daughter, the neighbourly feud spirals out of control.It seems that most films from Iceland are given the 'black comedy' tag, but this one is darker, and has less comedy, than most: although the feud's ultimate resolution would be unlikely to happen in real life, it is all too easy to imagine real life getting at least close to the film. As for Atli's storyline, after the initial 'ho ho ho, his wife caught him looking at a sex tape' moment, there are no laughs there. In fact, Atli's storyline is one of the main flaws of the film: it is interesting in a soap opera sort of way, but it is not obvious why so much time is spent on it when the focus of the film is supposed to be, presumably, the feud over the tree. It is almost as if the writers, Huldar Breiðfjörð and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (the latter also directed) could not spin out the feud to fill the entire film so thought they would use Atli's situation as padding. Another flaw of the film is poor lighting: interior scenes, especially, often look bleak and washed-out. While that may be intended to set the tone of the film, the viewer can not help wondering why these people in their nice houses do not switch on a few lights...Acting honours go to Björgvinsdóttir, who does a very nice turn as a parent whose grief over her other son's disappearance finds relief only in her antipathy to her neighbours. Sigurjónsson's portrayal of her husband, unsure how to cope with her, is also good, although he loses his admirable subtleness in the final few minutes and descends into acting-by-numbers, which is a shame. Steinþórsson is competent in his soap opera role. As the neighbours, I particularly enjoyed Þorsteinn Bachmann and the afore-mentioned Björnsdóttir's realistic portrayal of joyful relief when their missing dog turns up on the doorstep - all the more poignant for the viewer, who knows the dog is not as healthy as he at first seems...

TheLittleSongbird Have a lot of love for foreign language films, of all decades and all genres. That and that it was another film seen as part of my quest to see as many 2018 films as possible were my main reasons in seeing 'Under the Tree' from Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson. 'Under the Tree' is a truly fine film and manages to take a relevant subject (feuding neighbours) and explore it in a way that was hilarious, shocking and moving. It won't be one of my favourite films any time soon, but in no way should it be overlooked and should be seen as an example of how to execute a film with a subject like this well. Sadly, 'Under the Tree' has been released here alongside more expensive in budget films that have been quite big box office successes and films that people are more likely to go and see. While having enjoyed many of the films in question (in no way is it intended to be knock), 'Under the Tree' is better than most of them and deserves better.Sure 'Under the Tree' is occasionally a touch overcooked and some may find some of the behaviours extreme. However, Sigurdsson directs with a perfect balance of hilarious mayhem and melancholic pathos. This is also reflected in the thought-provoking script he scripted with Huldar Breidfjord. Many parts are hilarious in a dark way, others genuinely shock and there are emotional parts too, all in a way that is kept plausible throughout. Neighbour feuding sounds insignificant on paper to some, but 'Under the Tree' makes it darkly funny, disturbing and melancholic, a not easy feat but beautifully done here.The storytelling is always compelling, with the tensions having a bleakness and ferocity while still entertaining and emotionally resonating. There is a good deal happening, but not in a way that it feels cluttered with too many characters and subplots, instead there is enough breathing space and depth while having an alertness to the drama. A good cast would be needed to bring all this life. Luckily, 'Under the Tree's' cast is excellent. Particularly note-worthy of a cast where everybody is good and nobody bad is Edda Bjorgvinsdottir on fiercely intense form, her character near-unhinged. It is a very well made film visually, beautifully shot in particular. The music is inspired, appropriate and cleverly used.Overall, great and shouldn't be forgotten. 9/10 Bethany Cox

gbradford-79317 A dark comedy indeed, Under the Tree guarantees an interesting experience at the theatre. The film finds its tone from the jump, jet-black humor feeding off depressed circumstances, and remains pleasantly consistent throughout-though this stylistic choice will make or break the experience for you. While there's no shortage of wit amongst these characters, nearly all of the humor revolves around one person being particularly nasty to another. Even on a 90 minute run time, I found this harsh demeanor to be kind of a drag (maybe dark comedies aren't my thing, maybe I missed the point; take your pick). Following the dissolution of several marriages-one for newfound life, one fighting for custody, and one for a reprieve from grief-it's hard to believe Under the Tree wouldn't wrangle a genuine emotional reaction out most audience members by the time credits roll. Perhaps more valuable as a meditation on severe familial dysfunction than as a straight comedy, the film will likely scratch an itch for Icelandic brevity you didn't think you had.

gudnh The humor is pitch black and the characters extremely serious. The movie is hilarious and depressed at the same time. The acting is good for the most part. There are a few scenes where you notice some mistakes but nothing that has a terrible effect on the movie over all. The cinematography was superb, a lot of cool shots that made the movie extra depressed. I was happy with the music choices as well, really put the nail in the coffin with this one.One happy Icelander after seeing this at the movies. Do recommend 8/10.Script is amazing.