Musta jää (2007) User Reviews

Black Ice is cold but hot

[troche-5 · 8/10 · 26 April 2010]

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER, the Finnish movie "Black Ice" (Kotwica) thrilled us in 2008. A dangerous love triangle that goes from bad to worse is filled with deception, suspense and an imminent cat-fight. The main three actors were picked perfectly for their roles; Saara (Outi Mäenpää) is a middle aged doctor who seems to be happily married to Leo (Martti Suosalo) who is an architect/professor. Leo is having an affair with the much younger Tuuli (Ria Kataja) who happens to be one of his students. Saraa becomes suspicious of her husband as she finds a packet of condoms missing. By pure luck while visiting Leo after a rough day at work she stumbles upon an inappropriate email Leo received from a student which happens to be Tuuli. Instead of confronting Leo like an average, sane human being she decides to do a little investigating and follows her around. Tuuli leads her to a gym where she teaches KARATE!! This scene immediately put a smile on my face because I for saw an epic cat fight. Saraa decides to take Tuuli's karate class and after class she hides Tuuli's bike so she'll need a ride home. After this point these two women are inseparable as Saraa creates a new identity to prevent Tuuli from finding out who she is. Get ready for the deception and interconnecting story lines as the three take turns hanging out with each other.

Deception is the most reoccurring theme seen throughout the movie mostly between Tuuli and Saraa. Saraa befriends Tuuli so she can learn first hand about her relationship with Leo and possibly save the marriage. This was a great twist in the story because you have the Antagonist and Protagonist together but only one is aware of the truth. Saraa does a great job convincing Tuuli how genuine she is but really has an agenda the whole time. Throughout the movie they have some close encounters with Leo which kept me in anticipation for when the truth would come out. For me the interactions between Saraa the wife and Tuuli the home wrecking college girl are what really make this movie.

There is also a love triangle that also goes with the deception in this Finnish flick. As Tuuli's relationship with Leo disintegrates she becomes more and more dependant on Saraa and her companionship. Tuuli and Saraa start hanging out a lot and this creates tension between Tuuli and Leo by causing Leo to become jealous. This is the result of Leo finding a used condom in Tuuli's room from when Saraa had sex the night before. Tuuli calls Saraa to have her explain to Leo what happen because he didn't believe her.

I think its safe to say that the name of the movie was a theme in itself as black ice in real life is dangerous and misleading like the characters in this movie. Black ice is transparent so when driving it looks like the road is fine but actually it's covered by a slippery sheet of ice. Just like in the movie on the outside the characters seem fine but underneath they have serious issues.

While watching the opening scene of the movie for a second time I realized how important it is because it introduces the three main characters that eventually get wrapped up in a love triangle. This scene helps set the belief to the audience that Saara and Leo are very passionate and still in the honeymoon phase. As you watch the movie you find out that this is very misleading and the director does a great job setting this up. Also, I think the end of the clip is where Leo crashes his car and eventually walks off and freezes to death. So with that being said the settings in the 1st scene are actually the same as one of the last. The ending caught me off guard but in a good way and I think it was a fitting way to end it, so if you're looking for a happy ending look some where else.

The camera shots to me were very dramatic in this scene especially seeing it for the second time. In one scene you have two people having passionate sex and in the other a girl riding her bike in the cold winter. The focus of the camera during the sex scene uses a lot of close ups on the limbs of the couple showing how intense it is, it goes from sex to heavy foreplay and then to Saraa's face showing her enjoyment. All this is going on as Tuuli is riding the through the winter and the camera follows her journey while showing glimpses of her face as she struggles through the harsh weather.

"Black Ice" is a very interesting and entertaining movie that is worth watching more than once and would have success in America if redone in English. Watching two woman compete for the love of one man is an idea intriguing enough just to watch it and I guarantee this movie will not disappoint.

Is this love?

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 14 July 2008]

I don't know and I kinda guess the characters don't know either. It's more like not willing to lose something, than to actually love it/him/her. You could also say, Love is in the air ... but somehow no one can touch it.

While it has it's comedic moments too, it's more a (black) drama. At first you might guess where this is going, it seems to go the usual path that any movie with a plot like this goes (look for the plot summary, if you will, I won't spoil anything), but it does turn out to change it's path. Sometime the changes are very ridiculous, so you might have to stay with it. If you click out at some of the outrageous plot changes, you won't like the movie. The end is complete out-there (i.e. crazy), but the movie builds up to that point, so it's not a complete surprise. Still some might be shocked/appalled by it ...

A slippery and intense drama

[madland · 6/10 · 11 March 2012]

A fitting title for a dark drama, Black Ice is full of the undetectable deceptions that make three people's lives slippery and dangerous. Full of scenes with meaning beyond plot advancement, great acting and intense film making, Musta Jaa unfolds to be a well-made film worth watching, but not life changing. The Hollywood reminiscent style adds a wider audience than the strictly artsy films from other countries, with the dramatic scores, suspense and situations and some added flair of occasional humor.

Trust and betrayal under the blanket of deception is the biggest issue faced by the characters of this intense film. It starts with the basic cheating husband, then skillfully layers on a sort of friendship between the mistress and the wife and many levels of deceptive trust on all parties. Poor Tuuli trusts "Christa" too much for her own good, but from her perspective she wouldn't have suspicions. Leo trusts both of the women but is not trustworthy for either of them, fooling around and making a mess of people's emotions. A truly ironic scene when he thought Tuuli had cheated on him, was not just ironic in that Saara was the cause of the man's presence in bed and they called her, but also that he expected Tuuli to be faithful. Those expectations are laughable in the presence of his philandering ways, though I did appreciate that bit of complexity on his part. Even though Tuuli knows of how much he cheats on his wife, she still stays with him, which is an interesting moral predicament as a participator in adultery.

Dispersed through the film were scenes full of meaning beyond the surface level action that I appreciated greatly. When Tuuli and Saara are playing and dancing on the ice rink, it is deeply metaphorical of their situation at the time. They are cajoling around on a slippery surface, bumping into one another and dancing through this insane love triangle. They waltz together and run around trying to stay on their feet and then Saara makes the risky phone call, drawing attention to their slippery friendship. The other scene I especially noticed was the costume dance party where the two women were wearing slightly disturbing tribal costumes, masked for one another and operating in secret on so many levels.

The intensity of the movie was aided by many gory, disturbing scenes, always with some uncomfortable physicality. The sex scenes were steamy, yet tinged with the act of infidelity which made them aesthetically pleasing but morally cockeyed. The film ending and beginning with a drawn out shot of a scalpel slowly sliding through maternal flesh frames the plot with an uncomfortable emphasis on the nearness of bodily death. Another similar one follows Tuuli's playing with a knife with a crazy look in her eye, then a painfully slow shot that looks like blood dripping down her from her feet to the new hair dye she was rinsing, obviously implying self-mutilation. A scene that was particularly hard to watch for moral discomfort was when Saara tried to check Tuuli's cervix for pregnancy after drugging her, then plays it off as a continued sexual advance. The violation of the sleeping woman as well as the falsity of the encounter was deeply unsettling; it showed how far Saara had strayed morally and set the stage for the climax.

Though the film possesses a lot of positive qualities, there were just a few things I personally didn't like. Outi Maenpaa plays the betrayed wife well, though her character didn't elicit much emotional attachment from me. I wanted to root for her, but it was hard to see what she wanted exactly and if she didn't know, there wasn't much to indicate her inner conflict. I still wanted to know what was to unfold, and even if the film kept the mystery of her thoughts, I still felt almost more attached to Tuuli. I suppose a film doesn't have to have all-around likable characters, but none of them in this film were portrayed in a positive light. Even Tuuli, in my opinion the most likable character, is cast in the shadow of the jealous wife's hatred and we see her as that despicable other woman.

As an overall solid film, it does a good job of exploring what happens when the dark sides of deception undermine trusts and people get hurt. The drama and intensity of this uncomfortable film keep the viewer guessing what will transpire and this ill-fated love triangle is swept along by a current of snowballing events of a dangerous kind.

Characters All Around in Kotwica's Black Ice

[cebernhardt · 2 April 2014]

Kotwica's Black Ice (2007) manages to tackle almost every complexity of person-hood, through the route of infidelity. Middle-aged, gorgeous, and intelligent Saara discovers that her husband Leo has been unfaithful on her birthday. After finding herself surrounded with motherhood at work the next day, she decides to follow Leo's other woman, Tuulli. However, Saara unexpectedly finds herself falling headfirst into a deep friendship with Tuulli. As their friendship unfurls, Saara learns both sides of Leo and Tuuli's relationship. Saara takes Leo back for a time. Ultimately, however, when Leo dies unexpectedly in angry pursuit of what he thinks is Saara's lover (but is actually, in fact his own), Saara is confronted with the loss of Leo and the necessity to make peace with Tuulli. Leo's former lover is pregnant with his child, and despite Tuulli's attempts to rid herself of the child, she winds up on Saara's operating table. The film here comes full circle as Saara saves both Leo and Tuulli's child as well as Tuulli herself.

The cinematic choices made by Kotwica that give the film an overall dark and empty feel act as a manifestation of the inner emotions of Saara, and eventually of Tuulli. Treated wrongfully by the same man, the two women want nothing more than to hate one another. And yet, they find themselves bonding over their experiences of Leo's failure. A feminist message can here be found for the viewer. Subjected to a more than dark fate, Leo is ultimately held responsible for his wrong-doings. And while these two women are left to bear the repercussions of his actions (laboriously bringing his baby into the world, finally confronting each other with honesty, grappling with maintaining a friendship), they find that they are bound to one another in a way they never thought possible. We see the reflection of their dynamic and emotions most in the scene where Tuulli returns home with "Clara" (Saara) after a night of depressed partying. The house is dark in color, yet harshly lit, giving it a museum-like feel rather than a homey one. Additionally, the wind howls loudly outside. The harsh winter taking place around the characters for the duration of the film climaxes in this scene even though, interestingly, they are inside. Working to survive in the vortex of a life they have found themselves very much within, Tuulli and Saara must confront the truth of their relationship, as well as the truth of their relationships with Leo.

Thematically, Kotwica chooses to divulge the intricacies of infidelity through the exploration of the human form in every stage - infancy, nudity, youth, middle-age, vulnerability, sex, death all sit at the core of Kotwica's exploration of this theme. He even goes so far as to push the boundaries between friendship and homosexuality, if even for a brief moment. The recurring setting of locker rooms is a means by which Kotwica ties together further the characters of Saara and Tuulli. Where else is one most vulnerable than a locker room? Or a bedroom? Or out in the harsh elements of winter? Each of these are spaces in which we find our characters most often. At the close of the film, we even see Tuulli on the operating table - entirely submissive to and dependent upon Saara, who surprisingly chooses to save Tuulli and the baby's lives rather than "accidentally" take them.

We see on many occasions that Kotwica smartly ties together both unlikely characters, as well as their emotions, with the environment within which they exist. The reflection of the characters' emotions in the film's mise-en-scene intelligently and effectively ties them together and tells the viewers more about their individual identity as their response to their situation is revealed in this way. Kotwica's choice to depict the characters through their environment provides the viewer with a full understanding of how infidelity can completely surround and engulf a person.

Quite weird but entertaining

[Nephelith · 7/10 · 17 October 2020]

Both the concepts of cheating and of blaming the lover instead of the cheater are things I simply can't understand. Needless therefore to say that stories about cheating aren't my thing. This one though, it has something. Another user called it a 'twisted revenge', and that's pretty much what it is. It's weird, cold, manipulative and even disurbing at times. But the several layers of quiproquos and masquerades are clever, and the characters are very well portrayed and full of charisma, which makes the film entertaining.

How far would you go for revenge?

[boos-296-130897 · 7/10 · 11 March 2012]

How far would you go for revenge? Black Ice does an excellent job at getting into the complexities of developing and the subsequent consequences of breaking relational commitments. One of the real strengths of the film is its ability to portray heightened responses to relational distress in order to better delve into the complexity of revenge, without pushing the interactions into the realm of absurdity.

Black Ice tells the story of a complicated love triangle. A middle-aged doctor, Saara (Outi Mäenpää), discovers that her husband Leo (Martii Suosalo) is having an affair with his student, Tuuli (Ria Kataja). After finding out about the affair, Saara befriends her husband's mistress under the guise of a fake identity. The plot follows the incredibly complex web of events that unfold as each relationship is developed.

As a viewer I was fascinated by the films ability to explore the nature of relational covenants. Specifically, this film looks at how covenants develop and what the consequences of breaking these connections are. Instead of staying within the typical Hollywood confines of stereotypical love triangles, this film breaks the mold by completing the triangle. Each side of the relationship triangle highlights a different form of relational covenants. What made this film relatable was that I could identify with the fears and complexity of the characters' that were working to define their relationships. I, like all people, have struggled with dealing with betrayal in a relationship.

One of the most fascinating relationships that the film included was between Tuuli and Saara. This relationship gets to the heart of what is involved in the initial process of developing a friendship, a form of a covenant. While pretending to be a divorced psychologist, Saara begins taking karate classes from the mistress, Tuuli. The two develop their relationship by spending time together as Saara builds her fake identity. An especially gripping point of the film comes when Saara appears to be developing a true empathetic friendship with Tuuli, and then she speaks of her intense hatred and desire to murder her husband's mistress. I found the depth of their relationship very well done in that it successfully integrated surface level relationships with deeper emotions in a thought provoking way. Although daily interactions in real life are nowhere near this extreme, I thought this film did an excellent job at highlighting the complexity of female friendships by looking at the effects of envy, loneliness, and competition that women are forced to contend with while developing all of their relationships.

Another covenant-based relationship, marriage, is also explored. Although the first exposure to the married couple involves a very intimate sex scene, the shots are interspersed with clips of another young woman. This editing technique effectively shows the interrelatedness of their stories. Although marriage is a partnership, a third character appears involved. I found it especially interesting that the concept of an ideal marriage was broken so early in the film. As a viewer I found myself approaching the film with preconceived notions of marriage as sacred, and yet found myself expecting brokenness very early in the film as a result of this technique. Though I was uncomfortable watching it occur, I found the scenes where Leo and Saara were discussing the missing condoms and Saara going to her husband's office and finding evidence of his correspondence with Tuuli to be fairly realistic. As humans we are wired to be envious of others' relationships with our partners. Additionally, having shots of the other woman at the beginning is very effective in guiding the audience to believe Saara in her accusations. This is necessary and effective for the films believability. Instead of making Saara seem like a crazy woman stalking a young college student, I identified her as being justified in her anger and her desire to do something about it.

Not only does this film explore officially recognized romantic relationships, it also explores open affairs. One of the most noteworthy aspects I saw was Tuuli's awareness of Leo's multiple affairs. This is an odd level of transparency. When working on Tuuli's architecture project, Leo suggests that she be bold and include glass bricks in her design. He seems to advocate a separateness that has a large degree of transparency involved. This is explicitly seen in that Tuuli has knowledge of his multiple affairs, and yet she does not actually know who is wife is. This interplay shows the complexity of Leo's views on relationships.

Another thought provoking aspect of the web of relationships is looking at the comparisons between Tuuli and Saara. The film includes many close shots of each blond woman. Their physical similarities evoke a blending of the two women. Not only is Leo clearly physically attracted to each woman, but also the women's identities are very clearly shaped by each other. Saara's alternative identity, Christa, is completely molded as a result of interacting with Tuuli. Additionally, both women are dressed similarly when they go ice-skating and when they are at the costume party. Both scenes involve interactions with Leo. This similarity highlights their shared individual covenants with the same man. This interplay is very effective at posing questions of identity and the nature of connections between those who have a commonality, such as Leo.

One critique I do have of the film is the lack of character development of Leo. I found his character oddly static throughout the film. He truly seemed to want to remain married to Saara. I would have liked to see more depth and range of emotion from Leo as he dealt with the drastic changes in behavior of Saara, such as her decision to move out and to supposedly date a new man so quickly.

Overall I was very disturbed by the reality of the complexity of the relationships involved. I would recommend this film to mature audiences who are emotionally ready to explore the multifaceted covenants explored in the film.

Dark and cold, yet cleverly humorous European cinema

[jakkiih · 9/10 · 19 October 2007]

Musta Jää is a dark and cold love triangle and at times quite humorous one. It makes you laugh the first moment and the second it gives you the chills. Director Petri Kotwica clearly had no rush making this, because it seem so well finished, with not much faults. The only thing that I think didn't work all the time was the score. It is a score by a talented cello player from Apocalyptica, but it was playing maybe a bit too much during the movie. It's a minor minus, but not a big one.

All the actors are just fantastic, and the characters are very interesting. Outi Mäenpää is one of the best finnish actresses and she plays Saara, who finds out her husband is cheating on her. It happens the day she turns 40. Husband Leo is played by Martti Suosalo, a very fine actor too. Leo is having an affair with his student, 29 year old Tuuli (Ria Kataja). Saara starts planning a revenge, that is megalomanic and wonderful to watch, she even creates herself a new identity for it. The plot twists are not stunning but very entertaining and well made.

Movie is good looking too, visually. I think it's not a bit lower than the European medium of cinema. In my opinion it is by far the best finnish movie made in last few years, with Kaurismäki's Laitakaupungin Valot of course. This makes Petri Kotwica one of the most interesting new finnish directors. And this proves he's a great writer too. Movie has a lot of small little things - of acting, characters, cinematography, dialog - that are just genius, not really that much seen in finnish cinema. Much of it happens in Saara's mind. Not that much that you could analyze it like Ingmar Bergman's Persona (which has some fine similarities), but still some. The whole masquerade sequence is one of the things i like a lot too.

I recommend Musta Jää to people who like a well written, well acted and well directed little dark but cleverly humorous European, almost an art film-like cinema. Not for ones who dislike semi-low tempo, and too intelligent structure.

Impressive love triangle

[petteri_kalliomaki_82 · 10/10 · 10 October 2007]

One of the better commercial Finnish films of the last decade, "Musta jää" is a tight love triangle with unexpectable plot line. At many times (and quite surprisingly) it is almost hitchcockian in atmosphere, as you always know a little bit more than any of the characters - and in the end, the whole plot seems to be about masquerade à la "North by Northwest" or "Vertigo", with one of the main characters slowly turning into the character he/she performs.

Although the film suffers from few unnecessary sex scenes (not counting the over-the-top lesbian scene!) and quite unimpressive soundtrack, the film as a whole stands out as a remarkable effort. Kotwika has the patience to tell his story mainly through his fine actors and actresses, not through the images - the patience lacking from most modern film directors. He also explains the motives of his characters through their actions and expressions, not through their words. Kotwika seems to have some virtues of an old-time filmmaker, who still believes in his audiences intelligence. In that sense, his film hasn't appear a minute too soon on our Finnish screens.

A Strange Affair

[peterm9 · 5/10 · 18 March 2014]

In "Black Ice," Peter Kotwica ventures beyond his typical male lead to delve into the mind of a forty-year-old woman. Saara is not only beautiful, but also an accomplished surgeon. She is an idealization of the successful modern woman who has it all. Faced with her husband's affair, she acts like the surgeon she is, trying to fix the situation in a calculated and strategic manner. Her strong character and willingness to act sets her apart from what audiences often expect from a victim of infidelity. Kotwica's depiction of Saara benefits from the complexity of a personality that at the same time mixes dark feminine manipulation with the cold, intellect of a surgeon. So while Leo and his young student Tuuli initiate the action with their affair, it is Saara that takes control of the action. Saara's action jolts the audience, as such decisive action is something that would be more expected of a male than a female. At the same time, the way she uses her female characteristics makes her far more unsettling and deceitful than simple male anger. Kotwica has turned the typical love triange with two males competing for a female on its head. The development of Leo's character is less important because the movie is really about Saara and Tuuli. Both characters have strengths and areas that they control. The dangerousness of Saara is that she is able to use both her and Tuuli's strengths to her advantage. For instance, Saara allows herself to be Tuuli's judo student. There is certainly dark humor in that Tuuli is teaching Saara about power, strategic fighting and self-defense. These are all the mental attributes that Saara brings to the story. The point of the love triangle falls apart even before Leo's death as the drama becomes the line between the two women. Much of the films dramatic tension comes from the idea of black ice. Subconsciously furthered by the cold Finnish winter, there is an underlying feeling that Saara has put her foot on the accelerator and may not be able to control everything she has put into motion. Yet Saara proves to be a far more skilled driver than the others. Leo, in contrast, seems unable to steer his own life meaningfully. It turns out that when faced with events that require him to commit, such as becoming engaged or facing fatherhood, he responds through infidelity, betraying his superficial commitment. Likewise, Tuuli naively steps into Saara's car of friendship. Shot in cool blue tones, the viewer remains unsettled throughout the film. As the film progresses, Kotwica increasingly frames the shots with surgical precision. This leads the viewer to increasingly disconnect from the characters as Saraa's actions become more like a surgeon than a wife. Through desaturation, Kotwica reminds viewers that in the story it is always a figurative winter with dangers from both the cold and ice. Even Saara cannot control the cold and ice. It is the interaction of her actions with the cold and ice that leads to Leo's death. Yet, Saara continues to control the action to the end. As a surgeon, she saves Tuuli and her unborn child, ironic in that Tuuli wanted an abortion. So, Tuuli is figuratively still a passenger in Saara's car. Saara has turned from a modern woman full of life and accomplishment to the Snow Queen of Narnia and it is hard to tell that simply from the outside. That is why "Black Ice" makes your hair stand up just a little. Saara's character makes the viewer distrustful of what they see and this blurs the line between fiction and reality. Outi Maenpaa, Ria Kataja and Martti Suosalo reinforce this feeling without overacting. They allow awkward moments to be simply awkward and that make the performance feel real. Even in the end, Kotwica refuses to lead us to a proper end. It seems like it should be a fable with a purposeful end and yet the end just seems like reality. Ice isn't black and yet there is black ice.

A Walk on the Thin Ice

[native_girl333 · 9/10 · 23 February 2008]

Black Ice is an ice-cold story of love, passion and obsession. It is a love triangle with lots of disturbing angles.

Saara (brilliant Outi Mäenpää) and Leo (wicked Martti Suosalo) are happily married. Or so it seems. Saara will soon realize that her perfect marriage is a charade and just as thin as ice. Leo has an affair with young and talented Tuuli (fresh and talented Ria Kataja) who is a student of Leo. Saara starts to shadow Tuuli. Saara wants to know what kind of woman is taking her place. Tables turn and Saara forms a tight friendship with Tuuli. The solution can't lead to anything good...

Petri Kotwica has written and directed this drama with such realism that it is somewhat repulsive. The love triangle is one of the most used elements but Kotwica manages to make both of the women in the story seem equal. Leo's character is nicely controversial which reflects brilliantly trough his women. It brings us to the question that why women always fall for the "bad guy" and is there anything, even the slightest good in that. The acting is strong. Both Outi Mäenpää and Ria Kataja deliver their roles fantastically. It is no wonder that Mäenpää won a Finnish Oscar, Jussi-statue for her powerful performance. The soundtrack made by Eicca Toppinen from Apocalyptica supports the Finnish, snowy and melancholic scenery superbly.

Very recommendable Finnish drama!

Hard to watch, difficult to understand, impossible to believe.

[sweisner · 5/10 · 17 March 2014]

I had never squinted my eyes in utter disbelief for more than an hour until I saw Black Ice. The plot lacked fluency, the pacing was completely off, and the delivery of the film's big punch line was like a glancing blow from a white-belt.

The premise of Black Ice is this: Saara (Outi Mäenpää) finds out that her husband, Leo (Martti Suosalo), is cheating on her. She seeks out Leo's mistress, who turns out to be one of his art students. Saara befriends the young woman, Tuuli (Ria Kataja), and grows close to her. The story follows Saara in her quest for revenge upon both parties.

The main thing I can commend Black Ice for is the acting. Outi Mäenpää was almost always excellent as Saara. Her expressive face and especially telling eyes caught my attention and held it, as I could always tell when she was plotting her next move but never knew what it would be. Outi certainly deserved her 2008 Jussi award for best actress, and the cinematographer did justice by focusing intently on her bust (sculpturally speaking, that is, from the shoulders up). Occasionally I felt that Outi slipped into stretches of overacting, where for a short period of time her facial expressions and eyebrow wiggles would make me rub my own brow in skepticism. And her clothed full-body shots were painful to watch, often featuring spastic dance moves and hurried, artificial blocking.

The musical score featured prominently, most likely because it was an original soundtrack composed by a member of Apocalyptica. I often caught myself wondering if Eicca Toppinen had written the music for a separate film – or perhaps there was a sound-mixing mistake. The music projected an intensity that was seldom there – Tuuli cuts and glues wood for an art assignment while viola riffs and upbeat Bond-esque percussion attempt to convince us that what we are seeing is actually important. There were times when the score was spot-on, like when Saara stalks Tuuli to the sound of haunting disharmonic cello notes, but these moments were few and far between.

Saara is shown to be a master manipulator and an extremely intelligent woman. She thinks several steps ahead of the game. For example, she hides Tuuli's bike after their first martial arts class in order to drive the girl home and get some information out of her. Saara later makes a call from Tuuli's phone that single-handedly accomplishes several important goals while adding to the film's general muck and confusion. But Saara drags extraneous factors into the story she attempts to weave, which leads to messy situations – Lea (Ilkka's wife), the woman whom Tuuli thinks is Leo's wife, is led to believe that her husband is cheating on her, when in reality Lea and Ilkka are not involved in any sort of sexual scandal… Got it? I sure hope so, because you'll only have a few seconds to comprehend what's going on before Black Ice launches into another giant complication.

There is an intensely close physical proximity between Saara and Tuuli, and the mediated violence of their taekwondo sessions is the pressure release valve for any building tension. When Saara first joins the martial arts class, she feels the need to study Tuuli and so keeps her eyes open and watchful during the post-training meditation. But not more than a few sessions later, Saara is shown with closed eyes and a comfortable smile, signaling her acceptance and understanding of Tuuli – and possibly the beginning of a growing sexual desire for the girl. Near the film's ending, after Tuuli learns she has been manipulated, Saara is the one closing her eyes and crying from fear while Tuuli stares her down murderously. It's interesting that Saara is a student of Tuuli's, and Tuuli a student of Leo's – is there a hierarchy? Does the order of teaching even make sense? I can't figure it out.

My favorite scene in the movie was the one where Saara says, "I've been thinking far too much about how to kill my ex's girlfriend. How I could hurt her… I want to cut her open. Destroy her" – while Tuuli, the very subject of this speech, massages Saara's shoulders! That dialogue actually foreshadows the movie's ending, when Saara literally cuts Tuuli open during an emergency surgery. And she has ultimately destroyed Tuuli, who wanted an abortion, but now must single-handedly raise her child while also completing her work as a student. It was the only satisfying connection that I could find in this scrambled mix-up of a film.

But ultimately, I just couldn't bring myself to believe many of the things that I saw – and this was certainly an attempt to tell a believable story. Several questions lingered in my fuddled mind while the credits rolled: Why didn't Leo follow the road back home, like Tuuli had suggested? How does Tuuli's developing baby survive multiple kicks and a Jackie-Chan-like fall down a flight of stairs? What did that tattoo mean? Most importantly, how on earth is Saara accepted into college parties? I'm probably reading into Black Ice too much, and finding only enough to further perturb my confused mind.

An Attention-Keeping Finnish Film that has Quite a Few Twists

[mr-goodbytes · 9/10 · 26 April 2010]

Musta Jää was a great film that had a unique turn of events that not only kept my attention, but revived my faith in the concept of original films. The long and short of the film is that Saara (as played by Outi Mäenpää) suspects her husband Leo (as played by Martti Suosalo) of adultery, so she does some snooping. Not only does she manage to track down his new flame, Tuuli (as played by Ria Kataja), but she actually befriends her, under an assumed name, of course. She then breaks it off with Leo to sow the seeds of friendship in Tuuli, to advance her plot of revenge, as well as get some martial arts training in the meantime. After several (mildly clichéd) girl-power bonding scenes, they become best friends (as far as Tuuli knows), and they try to solve each others' problems, culminating in Saara calling herself and leaving a nasty message on her machine, leading to a restraining order being placed on Tuuli and Leo breaking up with her, effectively ruining her life, especially since it turns out she's pregnant with his baby. However, through a complex, although perfectly plausible, twist of events, Leo accidentally drinks a spiked drink that was meant for Tuuli and ends up freezing to death after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing his car.

All in all, this was, in my opinion, a very, very good film, one of the best I've seen this year, in fact. The twists the plot goes through were difficult for me to predict, which, given the number of movies I watch, is no small feat. For example, Saara's actions regarding Tuuli were almost counter-intuitive. I expected a confrontation right away, but instead, a friendship develops. This is something that I've never seen in any other films. Not only do they become friends, but they even have a minor lesbian experience towards the end of the film that was a beautiful combination of surprising and darkly funny, especially because Tuuli does feel a kind of love for Saara, but Saara has a burning hatred of Tuuli. The end of the movie was really good, too. After discovering Saara's plot and learning of Leo's death, Tuuli, in a shot at revenge, goes to the hospital after altering her appearance with hair dye and colored contacts (to avoid detection as she's not allowed in the hospital Saara works in, thanks to the restraining order) to get an abortion, but, after falling down a flight of stairs during a confrontation with Leo's sister (as played by Sara Paavolainen), she ends up getting both her life, and the life of her baby, saved by the now at-peace Saara, who wishes her "nothing but the best." The irony was just perfect. During the entirety of the movie, Saara was looking to kill Tuuli, but she ended up saving her. And it was on purpose, at that, as she recognized Tuuli's tattoo. I just felt that it was a perfectly twisted ending to a delightfully twisted movie. This movie gets good marks from me because, not only did it have an original and unpredictable sequence of events in the plot, but those events were all plausible. Everything that happened in the movie could definitely happen in real life, no question. There weren't any amazing coincidences or divine interventions, just actions and reactions, cause and effect. The choices the characters make are reasonable ones, too. No suicide missions, no flying off the handle, no superfluous, unreasonable aggression. Just people behaving as their situation dictates, yielding some amazing results. Other movies often have a weird turn of events or some crazy,unlikely coincidence to throw off the viewers, but everything here is perfectly plausible, if not likely, which I find most agreeable.

Another great thing about this movie is the way it explores the complexities of human interactions. The strange, complex relationships between Tuuli, Saara, and Leo are a perfect example of the classic response adults give children: "It's not that simple." All three of the main characters had mixed emotions for the other two; they all loved and resented each other, albeit in different ways. Saara resented Tuuli for her relationship with Leo, but she still was good friends with her, and you could see how uneasy she was when she finally betrayed her. She also resented Leo for being unfaithful, while simultaneously loving him, as they had been together for a long time and were deeply in love. This same complexity is reciprocated in the other two characters and it not only adds interest to the movie, as you try to decode to what ends the characters are progressing, but it also adds an extra dimension, a sort of sub-plot, as you see not the events that drive the main storyline, but also the ever-shifting opinions of each other that drive the actions in the first place. While I don't agree with the genre of "Psychological Thriller" that this movie was assigned, I do agree that, like in those movies, you really have to put yourself in the characters' shoes, and try to feel what they feel as you watch the movie. This is, to me, just one more reason to like this thoroughly enjoyable movie.

A Love Triangle For The Ages

[krouses · 9/10 · 26 April 2010]

"What do you do? I am a psycho….. logist". This is a short excerpt in the film Musta Jaa directed by Petri Kotwica, from when Saara, played by Outi Maenpaa, first met Tuuli who was played by Ria Kataja. It is in this first conversation where the tone will be set for the two's portrayed relationship. Tuuli asks Saara what she does for a living when she meets Saara at her martial arts class. Saara at first says that she is a psycho (which is not very far off the truth) and then hesitates and finishes her statement by adding -logist to the end of her word. Saara not only lies about her profession, but also gives Tuuli a fake name of Krista. Right away, the audience witnesses the level of Saara's deceitfulness, but it is not without cause. Prior to meeting Tuuli, Saara sadly discovers her husband of many years and architect professor, Leo (Marti Suosalo), has been cheating on her with another woman. After doing some snooping on Leo's computer, she identifies one of his students and local martial arts instructor Tuuli as being his mistress. In an eventual effort to harm/kill Tuuli, Saara assumes a fake identity so she could become "friends" with her. Unfortunately things do not go quite as planned for Saara and a deceitful love triangle is formed. Love triangles can only hold up for so long and, as in the case of Musta Jaa, the thrilling twists and turns of the triangle will keep audiences up on the edge of their seats trying to guess what will happen next. Kotwica does an excellent job of keeping the suspense alive and leaves very few clues as to how the love triangle will untangle itself. Musta Jaa is definitely not for children, but if you are looking for an intense thriller, then you have come to the right place.

One common theme in several Nordic films is infidelity and it just so happens to be at the heart of Musta Jaa's storyline. We see this theme predominantly in the relationship between Leo and Saara. Up until this point in their marriage, Saara was unaware of Leo's sexual escapades and it is not until she finds out about Tuuli that she realizes her husband has been involved with several other women throughout their marriage. Whereas Saara did not have the slightest clue Leo was cheating on her, Tuuli knew about Saara the entire time. Tuuli did not seem to have a problem with dating a man who was already married, not to mention almost twice her age. Even Saara chose to have a one night stand to blow off some steam once she found out she was cheated on by Leo. Unlike the United States, infidelity is a little more common and frequent in the Nordic countries including Finland, which is why Kotwica and many other Nordic directors include the theme in their films.

I found it interesting when I discovered the film was directed by a man because it is a very anti-male film. The film seems to portray males as being untrustworthy and having their minds driven by sex, whereas the women are portrayed to be strong and determined. You see this displayed in the film when Saara is able to successfully turn Leo's love affair back in his face. Leo is too focused on his sexual will and fails to notice his life being turned upside down until it is too late. In a recent interview, Kotwica was asked why he portrayed males so poorly in the film and he responded by saying "It must have something to do with hating certain episodes of my life and looking back I see myself acting as a clown in the past." He also went on to mention his main focus was developing a story between two women and would prefer to have spent a minimal amount of time on the male character. I believe Kotwica accomplishes his goal by spending the majority of the movie focusing on the relationship between Saara and Tuuli rather than devoting an equal amount of time to their relationships with Leo.

Overall, Musta Jaa is a deceitful drama with many twists and turns that wrap up in a rather peaceful and linear way. Kotwica does an excellent job using very dark sets and lighting in the film to help enhance its dark themes. The music and soundtrack in the film also fit in perfectly with its intense atmosphere. I thought all three of the main actors/actresses played their parts full of emotion and were entertaining to watch throughout. Some of the sex scenes are fairly graphic, but they do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the film. As long as the kids are in bed, Musta Jaa is an excellent choice for a late night thriller that will keep you guessing the entire time.

Twisted Revenge

[jelnf · 12 March 2012]

What would you do if you found out your spouse was cheating on you? Would you seek revenge? How far would you go to get revenge? Black Ice is a sick and twisted look at how far one woman will go to get revenge on her husband and his lover. It follows the main character Saara as she seeks to get back at her husband Leo, an architecture professor, and his student and lover, Tuuli.

After discovering that Leo is having an affair with his student Tuuli, Saara finds Tuuli and becomes her friend. Saara begins to take karate classes where Tuuli is an instructor. To Tuuli, Saara is Crista, a divorcée and a psycho…logist. Soon the two become best friends going clubbing and partying together. But soon Tuuli starts to realize that Crista is a little off. Although this award winning film is well done, it was far too disturbing for me.

For Black Ice, the title itself tells us a lot about the story. Black ice is hard to see on the road-just like infidelity can be difficult to see when it is happening to you. Leo had been cheating on Saara for years and she had no idea. In addition, black ice can be very dangerous and cause numerous accidents. Meanwhile, infidelity and betrayal can lead to extremely devastating situations. And each are only realized when it is too late to stop the destruction that will ensue. When Saara finally discovered Leo's unfaithfulness and how long it had been happening, she was expectedly upset. Sure enough, it ended with a deadly disaster.

A major theme in the movie is betrayal. For Saara and Leo it is infidelity and for Crista and Tuuli it is trust in a friendship. Saara struggles with the realization of her husband's infidelity with Tuuli. Through Saara's friendship with Tuuli, Saara discovers that Leo has been cheating on her since their engagement. This irritates Saara even more and she starts to become even more psycho. Furthermore, Leo doesn't really seem to man up to his actions and fight to be with his wife. Tuuli is also betrayed through Saara and her supposed friendship with Crista. Tuuli grew to trust Crista and they became best friends. But in the end, she realizes that Saara is just out for revenge. However, this friendship shows the other side of betrayal from the point of view of the girlfriend. In the end, this allows the viewer to feel more sympathetic towards Tuuli as she is not simply the girl Leo slept with.

Although it isn't explicitly stated at the start, Saara is out for revenge. The theme of revenge is central to the story. At times it was confusing to understand exactly what was Saara's plan as she befriended Tuuli. We could only suppose that she is out for vengeance. The point where it went too far for me was the night when Saara learns that Tuuli is pregnant and she drugs Tuuli. This scene was the most disturbing as Saara plays it off as if she is into Tuuli. Saara is portrayed as a messed up character that goes way too far to seek payback. I feel that it was not necessary to go this far. Saara also tries to kill Tuuli at karate with a knife. Everyone else in the karate studio sees this but seems to have little reaction to the situation and go on as normal afterwards. However, in the end Saara has stopped trying to take revenge when she performs a life-saving operation for Tuuli and her baby. By this point Leo has passed away and we see that Saara only really wanted to hurt Leo. Through Crista's friendship with Tuuli, Saara realizes that she doesn't want to hurt her.

Another interesting aspect of the film was the portrayal of men and women. Men are shown as only wanting sex. One day Leo and his friend are walking through their construction site talking about sex and Leo's justification for his infidelity. On the other hand women are portrayed as strong. Saara isn't afraid to leave Leo after being treated horribly and Tuuli is a resilient woman, ready to fight for herself.

The Finnish film, directed by Petri Kotwica depicts a disturbing story about relationships, betrayal, infidelity and revenge. It won five Jussi awards, including best film. Although Black Ice may be worthy of these awards, I do not feel it is worth anyone's time to watch it. Although Black Ice was a well-done thriller I wouldn't recommend to anyone. It's too messed up.

I am the minority who didn't like this film

[dlj11350 · 4/10 · 10 October 2008]

Just reviewed this flick as an entry to a major film festival. I am truly surprised at how many people simply love this movie. I watched the entire thing, was fairly engrossed in it (loved the two lead actresses - to me the best thing about the film), then had to sit down to write up a synopsis, etc., for it. Upon writing the synopsis I realized I really didn't like this film much at all. I've seen so many tales of infidelity that have bored me to tears that I thought that this one had been different. I had some kind of disconnect going on and wondered what had changed between the watching and the reviewing. It dawned on me that this film was just a quite well made, feature length soap opera and that I felt tricked. It was like a sick day spent at home blowing my nose and watching one soap after another and getting deeply involved in them and then realizing, once the day was over, that I'd filled my brain with silly histrionics and bad writing. I'm the minority here, for sure.

A Strong Psychological Thriller

[Fish_chips · 8/10 · 5 November 2014]

Black ice is a strong film, with excellent characterisation, plot development, and filming; in fact it won seven Finnish Jussi (film industry) awards in 2008 including Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Editing, Best Music, and Best Actress. The wife who is misled by her husband decides to play a complex game, but as the plot unfolds she develops dual feelings of both friendship and revenge towards her husband's mistress. Our feelings towards the mistress are bounced around too because she is quite happy to be a participant in the plot of deception she and the husband are engaged in, but then we find she herself becomes an unknowing target in the wife's plan of deception. The wife seems to have a fondness for knives (kitchen, gym props, and scalpels) and this gives the film a further degree of bite. Which of the 'friend or foe' feelings held by the wife will be triumphant by the end of this very fine film?

The Mating Patterns of Fat White Old People

[ZeroNonsense · 4/10 · 30 June 2009]

European cinema, eh? Where would we be without it? Its reputation for stripping the central characters down to bare flesh (figuratively and literally) to probe their dark recesses won't be done any disservice by Musta Jää, that's for goddam sure. The reviews which pulled me into the cinema featured buzzwords such as "entertaining and thought-provoking", yet somehow I came away from this film feeling like I had myself been violated (and not in a good way). You'll know the basic plot from the other reviews, so lemme say why I don't think it works.

First off, the protagonists are simply not credible. Look at Saara's character arc - from madly-in-love, 40-year-old respectable OBGYN to borderline nutjob near-divorcée who is happy to shtup (significantly younger) men and women alike. And for all her knowledge of psychology, she seems all too able to disassociate cause and effect - she wants her husband's girlfriend to "disappear", to "never have existed", even though it's clear the problem is not the existence of the girlfriend but the existence of the husband.

And what is it with Leo? Played by 46 year old pock-faced, slack-buttocked actor Martti Suosalo, the guy is sold to us as prime slice of Finnish beefcake, irresistible to women dozens of years younger than him because he professes architecture at the local polytech. Am I the only one that has doubts here? Maybe so, as even Tuuli (the girlfriend, competently played by Ria Kataja) finds Leo "amazing" and openly embarks on a year-long affair with him (incidentally, of all the pork scenes in this movie, not once do we see her banging Leo - no complaints here). But Leo's just not that bright or charismatic to warrant the multiple women supposedly ensnared by him. Suasalo's low-rent-Gary-Oldman turn sells us a dumb schmoe who's unable to keep his pants on. What's so thought-provoking about that?

Ultimately, though, the behaviour portrayed in this film is well worth a head-scratch or two. The threesome in this love triangle repeatedly bounce back towards one another in circumstances where each one of them should do a Paavo Nurmi and run a mile, yet Petri Kotwica doesn't really explore why they do this or offer any justification for it. They are just three spinning tops in a bowl, circling and clashing until each falls down - the demise of Leo seems unsurprising, totally justified and 90 minutes too late, and when Kotwica employs a deus ex machina to arrive at the only truly tense scene at the end of the movie (Tuuli under Saara's knife), the result seems contrived.

Notwithstanding the beautiful scenery and haunting music, this is a difficult movie to recommend.

A love triangle to say the least!!!

[OleDom · 12 March 2012]

An explosion of Champaign sets the mood as laughter fills the room, she walks in with piercing eyes and a beautiful smile. She begins to inflate a piece of what seems to be "birthday party décor". As she blows air into the balloon she holds a questionable grin on her face, as this balloon fills with air the audience soon realizes that is not a balloon, but a condom. Using the condom as a metaphor to reveal to her husband Leo and his family that she is aware of the affair that he is having, Saara patiently glared into Leo's eyes with an eyebrow raised expecting an explanation. Throughout this scene the camera switches to a female character spying on Leo and his family. Soon this character is revealed as Tuuli, a student of Leo's and the female that he is also having an affair with. As Saara gains more insight on her husband's betrayal, I could not help but wonder who the victim is, who should be blamed, or who is right.

In many Norwegian films there are common themes which include sex, betrayal, alcohol, and smoking. This film does not shy away from these common themes. These themes I feel as though they are all used as a way to escape what is really going on. Saara, Leo, and Tuuli, all seem to be going through an identity crisis. Leo believes that he wants to be married to Saara, but cannot give up his addiction to other. Tuuli, believes that she is in love with a guy but tries to live around the fact that he is married to another woman. Saara wants to be happy with her husband and tries to achieve this sense of happiness by destroying the life of Tuuli. She fails at this due to her becoming friends with Tuuli and Tuuli learning her true identity. Seeing that this Love triangle was doomed to fail, as an audience you could only expect what each character will do once they realize they are being betrayed by the ones that they trusted. The common occurrences of alcohol and smoking, makes it seem as though each character had their own addictions. In most of the movie you could find Saara with a cigarette in her hand. I found this as a stress reliever for her seeing that she was under pressure the most. Tuuli on the other hand was viewed as a young girl similar to many young students who went to school partied and drank. Leo was the character who I believe was addicted to sex. As long as he could have sex he would be happy. He realized that he was losing Saara but he could not be without sex. In the scene where he and Saara had lunch together he could not restrain himself from staring at the waiters butt. Right after he was caught by Saara, he pleaded for her to come back and be with him.

Sitting at the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end of this movie, chills flowed through my body making my heart pound in nervousness and mind flow with confusion. I was not sure what I was feeling throughout this movie, and I was not sure if I was supposed to know how to feel throughout this movie. Although I felt sorry for Saara, and somewhat understood Tuuli, I could not help but to hate Leo seeing that he was the reason all of this happened. When his body was found froze in the woods I could not help but to think that this is where he belonged and this was what his character role was for.

Intense is just one of the many words that can be used to describe how this film is. Entertaining to say the least this movie was worth the hour and thirty minute airing time. Convincing actors, quality picture and sound fits in great with a masterpiece story that will grab and hold your attention and having talking about it through the next couple of days. As I Stated in the tittle a love triangle of heart breaking betrayal is to say the least.

Review of Black Ice

[ticko07 · 8/10 · 26 April 2010]

In Petri Kotwica's film Black Ice, the viewer is able to watch first hand as Saara, the wife of an architect named Leo, infiltrates into the life of Tuuli, who at the time was in the midst of a long affair with Leo. Personally, I thought that this movie was excellent and kept the viewer between being on the edge of our seat while being very uncomfortable as we watched the plot unfold. Throughout the movie, Saara devises a plan to get back not only at Leo, but at Tuuli as well, as she pretends to be Tuuli's friend and helps her to break up with Leo. There were many interesting twists throughout the movie as well as scenarios that we assumed would have resulted in a different outcome, which made the movie a hit in my mind.

Black Ice is a movie about a middle aged couple (Saara and Leo) who live in Finland and our celebrating her birthday at their house. The movie opens with both individuals being fully nude and engaging in sexual intercourse. While this is happening, we are transitioned to another scene where Tuuli is biking, of which she ends up at Leo's house to spy on him. This is symbolic because we are introduced to the love triangle and this is one of the ways Tuuni discovers that Saara is Leo's wife. The scene then jumps back to the birthday party where Saara finds condoms in Leo's guitar case and thus the whole story begins to unfold.

Saara then begins a search for Tuuli and eventually follows her to a martial arts class, where she enters and begins to take sessions. She then hides Tuuli's bike and offers her a ride home, which one could say is the start to their long and controversial friendship.

As the movie rolls on, we see that Saara and Tuuli are building a strong friendship and even mess with Leo a little bit a parties when they are in costumes. The movie takes its biggest turning point when Saara finds out that Tuuli is pregnant, and she knows that if she wants to keep Leo, that she would have to do something about the baby. We are then a first hand witness to Saara drugging Tuuli and what appears to be a way of checking whether or not she is truly pregnant as Saara lubes up her hand and inserts it into her vagina. Tuuli wakes up and the scene then turns into an awkward lesbian kissing and groping session. Upon entering the bathroom, Tuuli discovers many aspects of the house are similar to those she had seen in the drawings of Leo and everything begins to fall into place. Tuuli ends up driving away without seeing Leo and he begins to chase her in his car after accidentally sipping on a drugged drink she left behind. He then drives off the road and ends up walking a distance and freezing to death.

In the end of the movie, Saara is called to perform a surgery on Tuuli (randomly), where she could have easily killed her or the baby or even both, but ends up saving both of their lives. This was the most uncomfortable scene for me due to the fact that after seeing the build up of events up to this point, I figured that Saara would have killed her and taken advantage of the situation. Obviously I predicted wrongly.

As far as how the movie was filmed, I feel that the use of camera angles and close up shots made the viewer feel like we were actually apart of each scene. This is specifically the case when Leo and Saara are having sex in their bed. The distance the scene was being shot from made me feel like I was sitting in their living room watching the whole thing. Another example of the excellent film techniques used in the film was the use the close up shots and extreme close up shots in the sex scenes. It made me feel like I was actually witnessing real sex and could feel the emotions in the air.

A common theme among Nordic films is the idea of secretiveness, which I found to be the most prevalent theme in this film. Between the affair and Saara and Tuuli's friendship, the whole movie was based around the secretiveness of its characters.

Overall, I would rate the film Black Ice an 8 out of 10 Stars. I thought the plot was very interesting and kept the viewer satisfyingly uncomfortable throughout the whole movie. I thought the acting was good, and the cinematic techniques were better than average. I would definitely recommend this movie to those interested in watching an uncomfortable adultery film. The main downside of the movie for me was that I had to read the subtitles and could not put 100% of my concentration on the film itself. Other than that, I thought the movie was great.

Psychological unease of "Black Ice" chills to the bone

[drumgirlelena · 8/10 · 17 March 2014]

Marital tension is not limited to any part of the world. Many couples experience problems that create stress and may lead to cheating. In his 2007 film "Black Ice," Petri Kotwica depicts a stereotypical cheating husband, however, he twists the story by adding a relationship between the hurting wife and oblivious mistress. The unique variation on this relatively familiar situation creates intrigue that transcends both language and culture, making "Black Ice" a captivating and edgy film for any audience, Finnish or not.

A unique aspect of Black Ice is how quickly the plot gets going once the film has begun. After a short burst of romance between Saara and Leo, secrets start coming out and the tension begins. In some ways, leaving out the general introduction to Saara and Leo's relationship leaves something to be desired. It makes it difficult to relate to Leo at all because we are instantly introduced to his faults as a husband. However, this is very effective in that it puts us entirely on Saara's side, and introduces us to the discomfort of relational tension. Our lack of information somewhat reflects Saara's unfamiliarity with her new situation having been betrayed and ultimately separating from her husband.

The genre of the film also contributes to the tension. While this story could be told through a simple drama or even romantic comedy, it is presented in the style of a psychological thriller. The characters are forced into uncomfortable and unusual situations that they press through given their unique circumstances. They face unwelcome friendships, relationships, sexual experiences, conversations, and more. Many people may struggle with the characters' actions, thinking that they, themselves, would deal with the situation more honestly as to avoid the deception and discomfort experienced, however the film does an excellent job of showing how very normal people can act wildly when put under extreme duress.

In addition to style and plot is the soundtrack. Cellist Eicca Topinen's experience with Apocalyptica shows through in her intensely emotional instrumental score, which drives the film's tension home. Slow, minor chords blend and create an uncanny sense of unease, which becomes more obvious as the film progresses. The first noticeable instance of this musical discomfort is when Saara finds and follows Tuuli, and as each secret that comes out, the eerie theme comes back, stronger and stronger each time.

While the whole film really supports the thrilling and uneasy impression, a few scenes are crucial. It starts with Saara finding the condoms at the very beginning. Her conflicting smile and admonition create a contradiction that sets the viewer on edge. This contradiction is further developed as we experience Saraa's ability to compartmentalize and create an intimate relationship with her husband's lover throughout the film. This ability to more or less let go of her emotions completely alienates her in addition toe the cheating Leo and Tulli.

Other particularly tense moments include Saraa's first interaction with Tuuli, the morning at Tuuli's home where Saraa and Leo nearly cross paths, the party where Tuuli confronts Lea, Saraa's attempt to examine Tuuli which turns into a homosexual sex scene, Leo's death, Tuuli's attack on Saraa at the martial arts class, and Tuuli falling down the stairs. And those are just the especially tense moments. This goes to show how many small instances of tension are interwoven between them.

One thing that the film could have done better was to organize some plot elements more cleverly. Tuuli seeing Lea and thinking it was Saraa, Saraa's restraining order keeping Tuuli out of the hospital, and sparring in the martial arts class all seemed fairly inevitable after the plot devices were introduced. While the setups were interesting and enthralling, they were at times predicable, which makes the film less fun to experience.

A final element that I especially liked was how this film exemplified the idea that if someone wrongs you, they should take the heat, not their ignorant accomplices. For example, Leo is the one who is cheating. While Tuuli is knowingly helping him commit adultery, she is not personally connected with Saraa and thus has no emotional reason to stop. This is what Saraa seems to realize as the film progresses, which enables her relationship with Tuuli to flourish.

Personally, I found the film impressive and exhilarating. The psychological thriller genre strongly appeals to me, as it makes you think about how twisted the seemingly ordinary human mind can be. No matter how much you think you can plan for life, you never know how things will actually transpire when they go south. While there are plot elements that could have been executed more cleanly, the film is representative of how realism can seem almost supernatural with the right circumstances, people and, in the case of film, music.

You Won't See This One Coming

[emily-berry · 8/10 · 15 March 2014]

"Black Ice" (Kotwicais, 2007) is the story of a doctor, Saara (Outi Mäenpää), who at first seems to have a great relationship with her architect husband, Leo (Martti Suosalo). Then she finds out he has been cheating on her with one of his students. Later she finds out he has been cheating on her with a series of women even since they were engaged. She moves out and decides to take revenge on her husband and his new mistress. Saara ends up creating a fake identity as a psychologist named Crista, and befriends the other woman, Tuuli (Ria Kataja). Things quickly become complicated and twisted as the story evolves. Who is being honest? Who is wearing a mask (figuratively or literally)? In many scenes there is little or no dialogue, but tension and emotions are felt through the actors' eyes and the music. This suspenseful film is a great psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

While the story revolves around two women who love the same man, the man himself is not seen very often. This film focuses on the complex relationship between the two women, something you don't see very often in film, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. Both of the women are excellent actresses, bringing depth and emotion through the dialogue and possibly even more so in scenes without dialogue. When Saara attends Tuuli's karate class for the first time, there is a powerful scene were she stares her down from the back of the class. Everyone else has their eyes closed except Saara; you see her watching and waiting with such hate, contemplating what she will do to this woman who is sleeping with her husband.

In the beginning of the film Saara is innocent and shocked to learn that she has been betrayed. The viewer initially roots for her, but she quickly turns to manipulation and deceit to take revenge on her husband and his mistress. We are first introduced to Tuuli as the other woman, a dishonest cheater. However, as Saara gets closer to Tuuli and they become best friends, she becomes likable and sympathetic. This caught me off guard. You have reasons to both root for and hate both of the main characters. Tuuli is completely open and honest with Saara. Eventually it becomes hard to tell if Saara is pretending to be friends with Tuuli, or if she is starting to actually become her best friend. When she is talking to her husband about Tuuli, and he calls her "that chick", she defends her in a way, saying, "she is your girlfriend, not just some chick." You can tell she feels bad for Tuuli after she gets back together with her husband, even though that is what she wanted. In the end though when Saara finds out that Tuuli might be pregnant with her husband's baby, she takes advantage of her in a despicable way. Soon after, Tuuli learns the truth and is shocked to learn of her own betrayal. Their roles have essentially reversed, and both are left devastated.

I enjoyed the music in the film from the start. The score was written and performed by members of the Finnish metal band Apocolyptica. It was an interesting choice that I think worked out well. Often during scenes with no dialogue, the music gives you a better look at the characters' inner thoughts and feelings. I remember one scene in particular where this was effective. Saara and Tuuli are going ice-skating together, and appear to be two friends just out having a good time. However the music does not reflect this; it is serious and intense, reminding you that Saara has dark ulterior motives. The situation is tragic in multiple ways, and the music does well at reflecting the mood.

The way the characters evolved and changed throughout the story kept me engaged and interested throughout the film. The complexities and twists surprised me, and moved me in ways I did not expect. Some of the plot was not necessarily very believable, but if you allow yourself to go along with the story it will take you for an interesting and dramatic ride with several twist and turns. The director, Petri Kotwica, planned this film for six years; you can tell it was very well thought out. I did not think I would like this movie as much as I did; I thought it would be a typical love triangle story of infidelity. The acting, music, irony, and convolutions make it stand out as a very good film.

Weak Women

[williama-678-222173 · 27 April 2010]

Musta Jaa's dark triangle thriller definitely got my attention with its suspense and twists, but for a country that views women as powerful, this film did a wonderful job of showing them as weak. Perhaps I hold the Scandinavian countries to a higher standard when it comes to social liberalism, but for a movie made in 2007, I do not like its messages. Why are these women victims? Sara should have left her husband immediately, and Tuuli set herself up for a lifestyle of insecurity and unhappiness. Kotwica claims that he wanted two powerful female leads, well Petri, these ladies were pathetic. This movie makes me NOT want to go to Finland, that's for sure.

It seems that Kotwica is trying to get us close to both Saara and Tuuli. His portrayal of Tuuli encourages the viewer to be sympathetic towards her. Long takes, using a close up shot show her crying and miserable. EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS DATING A MARRIED MAN! This girl is young and beautiful, and she goes after some pock faced homely professor who is "so intelligent" and truly "appreciates her art." Barf! Physical appearance is obviously not the issue here; I just felt like being descriptive. The fact is Tuuli is stupid, ignorant, and epitomizes everything a female should not be. No matter how well you do in school or how great of a citizen you are, sleeping with someone's husband makes you dumb. At the end of the movie, I was crying! I was so happy that Saara helped Tuuli. I wanted her to live, and I felt sorry for her. Then, I thought about it, and realized that she is dating/dated a married man. Duh. I believe in second chances, I do, but Kotwica made me forget everything immoral about Tuuli's character. There were even times when I thought Sara was the annoying one.

Let's look at a more positive aspect of Finland. Gender equality! Both Saara and Tuuli are women with good economic standing. Saara is a doctor, showing that she has had many years of education, while Tuuli is currently studying art at the university. Their roles in society seem to portray gender egalitarianism. This portrayal is quite accurate, as Finnish women tend to have full time jobs and have equal rights in the labor market (Arber and Lahelma, 125). In fact, women have historically participated in the labor force. For example, in 1950, 41% of women were employed (Arber and Lahelma, 123). This was possibly the one good thing these women had going for them, but what good is gender equality in the schools and work place when your significant other is a cheating, shallow a. hole?

Maybe the consumption of alcohol is a contributor in the poor behavior of these females. We saw Tuuli and pretend Saara go out on two occasions and drink heavily. Sara banged a German exchange student half her age, and Tuuli often cried over her gross married boyfriend. In Substance Abuse (2001), Bloomfield, Gmel, Neve and Mustonen found a large increase in alcohol consumption among Finnish women since 1970. They believe that the egalitarian society causes women to adopt behaviors, such as drinking, from males because they are "increasingly moving into professions and/or lifestyles similar to those of men" (39).

Perhaps these are issues that Kotwica wants to address, because it sounds like drinking and infidelity is a prevalent issue in Finland. If his intentions were to prove that this type of lifestyle is unjust and immoral, then yes, I agree with him. My one question I still must continue to ask is: why make Tuuli so innocent? She is a woman who should be able to recognize that her choices are bad for her well being. Is this how Finland views infidelity? I'm not a religious person, so I do not believe adultery is sin, but I think marriage requires commitment between two individuals. Two people in a marriage should have enough respect for each other not to cheat! How about a divorce???? Legally, they're fairly easy to get in Finland.

Honestly, I did not hate Musta Jää. It was exciting and had exquisite cinematography, and I always enjoy a film with an unpredictable plot line. And for the record, I am not opposed to traveling to Finland. I know better than to judge a country by one representation. However, the two women angered me, a lot.

Bibliography

Arber, Sara and Eero Lahelma. (1993). "Women, Paid Employment and Ill-Health in Britain and Finland". Acta Sociologica. Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 121-138. Sage Publications.

Bloomfield, Kim, Gerhard Gmel, Rudie Neve and Heli Mustonen. (2001). "Investigating Gender Convergence in Alcohol Consumption in Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland: A Repeated Survey Analysis". Substance Abuse. Vol. 22, No. 1.

Black Ice (2007)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 8/10 · 13 December 2011]

Psychological and very sexy thriller in a game of cat and mouse. What Black Ice tends to focus on is honor and honesty more than actual love. The partners are together, but it's never clear as to why. In one instance we find out that the marriage at the center of the movie has had all of its big moments marked by an affair. Maenpaa gives a fantastic performance as a woman investigating her husband's affair. She wants answers, but doesn't resort to petty violence or making a scene. Towards the end she does begin to crack. A more malicious character is shown, but at the same time we understand where the aggression came from. People justify their actions, but more people end up getting hurt. It's never terribly shocking, but the way the director handles conflict is very imaginative. The non-violent martial arts lessons, showing a restrained form of anger where all the punches are being thrown by the looks in the eyes. Stunning cinematography that captures the frozen landscapes, and a haunting and chilling score also provide extra atmosphere.

A powerfully dark love triangle

[klefsaae · 9/10 · 26 April 2010]

"I'm a psycho…psychologist", an eerie and ironic quote taken from the main character, Saara, in the dark and ever so strange love triangle story entangled in the film, Black Ice, written and directed by Petri Kotwica in 2007. Setting the stage for this dark and ominous film, Saara, a middle-aged gynecologist and supposedly happily married to her husband, Leo, says this peculiar quote the first time she meets her husbands apparent lover, Tuuli, after discovering intimate e-mails exchanged between her and Leo. Tuuli is a student of Leo's at an architecture school and is also a part time karate instructor, which Saara enrolls in order to do a little sleuthing of her own to see what kind of person the man she loves would cheat on her with. Throughout the karate class and unbeknownst to Leo, Saara takes on a new identity and becomes unexpectedly close friends with Tuuli, creating a complex web of half truths, lies, and deceit that puts viewers on the edge of their seat wondering when or if the intricate love triangle will come crashing down on Saara, Tuuli, and Leo.

Black Ice undoubtedly contains fantastic acting and powerful performances by all three main characters, which is key to the film's underlying themes and extraordinary storyline. Saara, played by Outi Mäenpää, plays a fantastically curious wife trying to figure out why her seemingly "good" husband is having an affair with a young student, Tuuli. Tuuli, played by Ria Kataja, is a seemingly bright, eager, and caring young woman searching for love and affection and finds it with her architecture professor, Leo. Martti Suosalo plays the role of Leo, whom is "happily" married to Saara and pleads his love for her which is seen in the opening scene of the film when Leo tells Saara how content he is being with her and how eager he is to be with her, and only her.

The reoccurring theme in Nordic film of infidelity is very prevalent in Black Ice, and in fact is at the center of the entire plot throughout the film. As stated above, Leo cheats on his wife, Saara, who is anything but happy when she finds out this daunting truth about her husband. To get "back" at Leo, Saara indulges in a one-night stand of her own, which only complicates things. Saara does this in retaliation to Leo's actions, and two wrongs definitely in this case don't make a right, but Leo is portrayed and lives up to the cliché that the man is the sole "bad guy" in situations like this one. This speaks to Petri Kotwica's writing and how he incorporates women as the "powerful" ones. Moreover, Saara and Tuuli are eventually seen throughout the movie as "equal". Kotwica develops both character's beautifully and has the patience to tell his story mainly through his fine actors and actresses, not through the film's images. For example, instead of Saara confronting Tuuli from the get go about the affair, the drawn out relationship between Saara and Tuuli gives the audience a sense of compassion and concern that women have for their most closest loved ones.

This brings up another strong theme apparent in the film; love. It is obvious that Saara loves Leo and will go to great lengths to confirm one hundred percent that he indeed is cheating on her. The strong emotion of love can blind a person from the inevitable truth and can cause people involved to do things and act a certain way that is very different from who they truly are. This is seen when the film reveals that Saara has a strong urge to kill Leo's lover, Tuuli. Undoubtedly, this is not a normal thought for a prestigious and moral doctor such as Saara and definitely not a part of her daily life and personal values. Interestingly enough, the majority of the plot focuses on the relationship and the blooming love between Saara and Tuuli.

In my opinion, an important underlying theme to note in Black Ice is the fact that under any circumstance, infidelity is wrong and can only end up badly for both parties. Leo learns the hard way that having an affair and cheating on your wife can only lead down a dark and lonely path to destruction. Being faithful to your spouse is of utmost importance, and anything short of being faithful is wrong and will inevitably lead to all parties involved being hurt.

Overall, I felt that the movie accomplished the goal of keeping it's audience entertained and on the edge of their seat. Mixing in multiple relationships with fireworks and surprises at every turn, I would give this film a 9.5 out of 10. The strangeness of the love triangle is one that is very different from films in the Untied States, and I truly enjoyed the character's development and how all the pieces ended up fitting together in the dark, love twisted film of Black Ice.

A Love-Triangle Approaching Black Ice

[mannb-938-88175 · 9/10 · 17 March 2014]

Never once was there a dull, uneventful moment during the film, "Black Ice". Finish director, Petri Kotwica successfully pieces together an exceptional, suspenseful, and riveting film about Saara, a middle-aged woman, seeking revenge on her cheating husband, Leo, an architect and professor, and Tuuli, the student and "girlfriend" of Leo. The ultimate question asked is, How far does one go to achieve revenge? Saara finds out about Leo's affair the evening of her birthday, and the next day goes to visit him at his office to find an e-mail from Tuuli, the young student Leo has a "relationship" with. Saara finds a picture of Tuuli and where she lives on the campus and immediately goes to find her and follow her, ending up at the karate class Tuuli instructs. Without much thought, Saara has joined the beginner's class and from this initial encounter, the two women form a seemingly strong relationship, although Saara has introduced herself to Tuuli as a Christa Ericcson, in attempt to cover up her true identity. As this relationship progresses, Leo is attempting to juggle his relationships with Tuuli and Christa, eventually leading to utter chaos and devastation in each of their lives.

Throughout "Black Ice" director, Petri Kotwica, draws upon various themes throughout the film, such as infidelity, sex/gender, revenge, and betrayal. While each of these major ideas are constantly seen during the movie, the theme of betrayal seems to be emphasized, as it was the basis of many decisions each character made amidst the suspenseful events. Including Saara's discovery of her husbands affair, Leo ending his relationship with Tuuli, his flirtatious actions at the costume party, and Tuuli's realization of Christa's real identity, each of these moments and others depict the extent to which humans prioritize their needs and feelings before others regardless of the effect it has on the people around them. In congruence with the overarching theme of betrayal, the reoccurring idea of seeking revenge drives many of the events that end in betrayal. As Saara seeks revenge on Tuuli for sleeping with Leo, the seemingly strong and "true" friendship Saara (Christa) and Tuuli form is completely destroyed, leaving Tuuli amidst feelings of complete betrayal by Saara. The revenge and betrayal we witness in "Black Ice" constantly reminds the audience just how brutal humanity can be when people are stuck in extremely emotional states.

The love triangle story line is a perfect situation to be able to explore humans in instances of revenge and betrayal. While Saara (Christa) is forming a strong connection to Tuuli, Saara'a love for Leo is back and fourth the more she learns about her husband's secrets, as Tuuli's love for Leo is crushed and slowly fades once he breaks up with her and then see's him at the costume party with other students. Leo attempts to juggle both of his relationships, eventually ending in betrayal by both of them. In comparison to Hollywood films, there is nothing quite like the love triangle depicted in "Black Ice".

The plot was extremely interesting and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, impatiently waiting to see what would happen next. The skillful use of foreshadowing by Kotwica gets the viewer guessing what will happen next, however the creative and unique plot made it so the unraveling of the events was always unexpected. Throughout the film, I never knew what was going to happen next, which carried the plot along enabling the suspenseful and thrilling scenes to build on each other, ultimately making the end of the film to leave the viewer in shock. The acting and story line was extremely well done and added to the element of suspense, but I think the music and sound effects used throughout the film that truly instilled suspenseful and thrilling feelings in me as the events unfolded. The music allows for the viewer to connect emotionally with what was happening on screen. For example, while Saara was stalking Tuuli in the beginning of the movie, from being in her residence hall on campus to following her as she rides her bike to the karate studio, the suspenseful, slightly creepy music made me feel as if I was stalking Tuuli as well. The connection the music creates with the audience and events on screen amplifies the emotional response the viewer has to each scene.

Finish films being known for their tragic and devastating endings, "Black Ice" not only captures devastation in the end, but also a shock factor triggering much emotion that makes it a must see.