L'Iceberg (2007)

69% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(811 ratings)

Fiona is the manager of a fast-food restaurant. She lives comfortably with her family in the suburbs. In other words, Fiona is happy... until one day she accidentally gets locked into a walk-in fridge. She escapes the next morning, half frozen and barely alive, only to realize that her husband and… More Fiona is the manager of a fast-food restaurant. She lives comfortably with her family in the suburbs. In other words, Fiona is happy... until one day she accidentally gets locked into a walk-in fridge. She escapes the next morning, half frozen and barely alive, only to realize that her husband and two children didn't even notice she was missing. But when Fiona develops an obsession for everything cold and icy: snow, polar bears, fridges, icebergs--she drops everything, climbs into a frozen goods delivery truck and leaves home. For a real iceberg.

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Bruno Romy, Dominique Abel
Written By: Dominque Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 17, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Sep 18, 2007
Studio: First Run Features

Critic Reviews

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
It's heartening to see anyone pull off any sort of comedy along these classically established lines.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Delightful in places, the surreal stunts are lovingly crafted. As a seaworthy film, though, Fiona's folly is more pratfall than plot.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
I found it striking but often strident, and neither funny nor edifying.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Ultimately undone by its air of overly mannered preciousness.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's funny and it's touching and it's weird and it's compelling and I think really gorgeous to look at as well.
David Edelstein, New York Magazine
Once we're out to sea the movie goes swimmingly -- its three protagonists fighting, flailing, and often on the verge of drowning as their tiny skiff surges toward the land of the Inuit.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
While it might be fun to laugh at carefully crafted slapstick for half an hour, it's hard for it to maintain its momentum for the duration of a feature.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Watching it was a very cold experience.
Kam Williams, Mount Desert Islander
A mime-like slapstick comedy from Belgium reminiscent of the best bits by the rubber-faced Mr. Bean.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
The only unconvincing note in this tender, lyrical romantic reverie, is an inflexible moralistic resolution advocating female dream abstinence in favor of what is presented as a mutually exclusive conventional domestic existence.
Cliff Doerksen, Time Out
Cute but toothless.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
'Deadpan' doesn't begin to describe the tongue-in-cheek mix of gravity and cool detachment in which L'Iceberg's slapstick nonsense thrives.
Gianni Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Words seldom intrude on the sight gags that range from elegant to acrobatic, and the collective directors exhibit the rare bravery to let a static camera linger to crank comic tension.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
If mime is your idea of entertainment, you might have a good time, but others will feel as though they're trapped in an invisible box.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
The Iceberg is a riot, a quintessential French comedy with an improbable plot and an unbelievable cast of characters.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
An amusing, inventive effort.
Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews
Admittedly, some of the humor doesn't translate well, and the performers tend to carry on too long in some scenes. Once the action shifts to the boat, there's only so much that can be done, given the confines of space. L'ICEBERG delivers laughs, though, a
Shirley Sealy, Film Journal International
Tells its highly entertaining and surprisingly touching story almost exclusively through physical comedy.
Noel Murray, AV Club
In the end, it's easier to admire than to love.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Mark A

A thoroughly enjoyable, if bizarre, bare-bones story provides the backdrop for this cinematic performance art. Almost surreal in its depiction of a woman who becomes restless after finding out she is not quite indispensable to her family and sets out on an ultimately successful quest.… More
A thoroughly enjoyable, if bizarre, bare-bones story provides the backdrop for this cinematic performance art. Almost surreal in its depiction of a woman who becomes restless after finding out she is not quite indispensable to her family and sets out on an ultimately successful quest. Minimal dialog interferes with the visual feast that awaits the rare viewer who does not need a compelling story line to keep one's interest. Fiona Gordon wrote, directed, and starred in this piece and it is her vision that makes it all work. Her beauty, muted as it is, grew on this viewer as the film progressed. She may not be what one would call a traditional beauty, but there is something about her quiet dignity and determination that caused one to be captured by her performance. There are sight gags galore from the opening scene to the very end. "Brava!" Ms Gordon!
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"L'Iceberg" starts with Nattikuttuk(Lucy Tulugarjuk) explaining how she met her husband.(Savor these words of speech. They will be few and far between for a while. And yes there is a very good reason for this style, if you think about it...) Her… More
[font=Century Gothic]"L'Iceberg" starts with Nattikuttuk(Lucy Tulugarjuk) explaining how she met her husband.(Savor these words of speech. They will be few and far between for a while. And yes there is a very good reason for this style, if you think about it...) Her story begins with Fiona(Fiona Gordon, writer/director #1), who is married to Julien(Dominique Abel, writer/director #2), getting trapped overnight in the freezer at the restaurant where she works. She survives but also becomes obsessed with icebergs, eventually stowing away in a frozen food truck, along with a lot of other people who do not want to go quite as far north as she does...[/font] [font=Century Gothic](Writer/director #3 is Bruno Romy who shows up later in the movie.)[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"L'Iceberg" is a charmingly offbeat movie that feels like a live action cartoon. In any case, it is best not to take anything that happens in the movie literally, as it is all part of a fable about love and the nature of language.[/font]
Emily B

"When Fiona, who manages a fast-food restaurant, accidentally locks herself in the restaurant's walk-in freezer overnight, she realizes how pointless her life has become and runs away; to seek happiness, put her life right again and perhaps to visit the icebergs with which… More
"When Fiona, who manages a fast-food restaurant, accidentally locks herself in the restaurant's walk-in freezer overnight, she realizes how pointless her life has become and runs away; to seek happiness, put her life right again and perhaps to visit the icebergs with which she begins an obsession." Even before you start watching this unknown little gem of a film you know it's going to be bizarre. Directors and stars Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy use sparse dialogue, deadpan humour, quirky characters and Tati-esque gags to create an original and charming experience. Totally different from comedies coming from Hollywood today, to sum up just a generally fun film.

L'Iceberg (2007)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Mark A

Walter M

Emily B

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