Inspired and entertained by Woman at War

I was attracted by an Icelandic film with a female lead more than the actual title: Woman at War. I was pleasantly surprised as the war was a subtle environmental one and the woman, Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) was a smart and talented fifty-year-old. The Icelandic scenery and the haunting music played by musicians across the country was also a pleasant surprise. Wherever she was, there was a trio nearby of poker-faced musicians. This film was spectacular at every level. It was an intelligent feel-good film that addressed real and urgent global issues with humour, music and a satisfying sense of justice. Behind the scenes of her regular routine as a choir director, Halla led a double life as a passionate environmental activist, known as the Woman of the Mountain. In the opening scene we see her firing a bow and arrow across high power lines to cut power to the local aluminium smelter and protest against the energy corporations that are moving into Iceland. There are some wonderful cat and mouse scenes on wild moors where she hides from the helicopter under a mossy overhang. As she seeks help from local sheep farmers, we see their support for the environment. There is also a comic counterpoint, played by a wandering Spanish tourist named Juan (Juan Camilla Roman Estrada) who keeps cycling in the wrong place and is mistakenly identified for Halla’s crimes. She continues her dramatic industrial sabotage with help from a Government insider but as American thermal cameras monitor Iceland's highlands from space, Halla is trying to decide if she should stop using her bow and arrow and issue the ecological manifesto she’s been planning. A surprise phone call reveals that an application Halla made years earlier to adopt a child has unexpectedly been accepted. A sprightly Ukrainian girl orphaned by war needs a mother. So Halla's challenge is whether she can risk being imprisoned when she’s responsible for a child already traumatized by the loss of one home. At the same time, a cappella trio of women in traditional Ukrainian folk dress sing up a storm at key decision-making points. With perfect timing, Halla’s twin, Asa, shows up although she has just agreed to join an ashram in India for two years. This sets the scene for a few interesting twists and turns. The final scenes offer a heart-warming resolution, but the environment wins out, in a lingering warning.