Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Insomnia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 20, 2014

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Erik Skjoldbjærg's "Insomnia" (1997) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with Erik Skjoldbjærg and Stellan Skarsgard; and two early short films directed by the Norwegian filmmaker, "Near Winter" (1993) and "Close to Home" (1994). The release also arrives with 20-page illustrated booklet featuring Jonathan Romney's essay "Unbearable Lightness" and technical credits. Region-A "locked".

The Detective

The great Stellan Skarsgard is Jonas Engstrom, a Swedish veteran detective who is sent to a small Norwegian town nearby the Arctic Circle to solve the brutal killing of a young girl (Maria Mathiesen). He is accompanied by his equally experienced partner Erik Vik (Sverre Anker Ousdal).

Engstrom and his Vik quickly gather enough valuable information and set a trap for the killer (Bjørn Floberg). Then they begin waiting. Eventually, the killer appears and the two detectives go after him. But in the thick fog, while chasing the killer, Engstrom accidentally kills his partner.

An investigation is immediately launched, but instead of admitting that he is responsible for the death of his colleague Engstrom leads the local authorities to conclude that he was shot by the killer. Meanwhile, realizing that Engstrom is playing a dangerous game that could collapse the entire investigation, the killer makes a bold move that surprises Engstrom and forces him to reevaluate his involvement with the murder case and reexamine his past.

At least as far as international audiences are concerned Nordic Noir begins here, with Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjærg’s first feature film, Insomnia. After it everything changed -- in the late '90s the world suddenly started paying attention to the gritty thrillers that were produced in Scandinavia, foreign distributors started licensing them, and Hollywood decided that a few were worth remaking. (In 2002, Chris Nolan directed an English-language remake of Insomnia for Warner Brothers, with Al Pacino playing the veteran detective). Then Nordic Noir, which had already been embraced as a unique genre, just grew bigger and bigger.

Insomnia is loosely divided into two uneven parts. The first is essentially a mini-thriller in which a gruesome crime is reconstructed and the person suspected of committing it quickly profiled. Before the inevitable arrest of the killer, however, there is a sudden change of direction. Here, in the second part, the gruesome crime slowly fades away. Now the focus of attention is on a powerful character transformation and on a set of fascinating relationships.

What unites the two contrasting parts of Insomnia is the bold cinematography. Despite being very intense and at times quite unsettling, the film is essentially allergic to shadows. Indeed, it is very bright light and a variety of very cold colors that are used to enhance the moody atmosphere.

The cast is excellent. Skarsgard delivers career-defining performance as the veteran Swedish detective who must stay a few steps ahead of everyone, including his colleagues. Gisken Armand is wonderful as the intelligent local investigator. Floberg, a hugely underrated actor, is very convincing as the maniacal killer. A very young Maria Bonnevie also has a memorable cameo as a lonely hotel clerk. (Bonnevie’s best performance to date is in Danish director Christoffer Boe’s fantastic thriller Reconstruction).

Insomnia’s outstanding soundtrack was created by Norwegian artist Geir Jenssen, who has released a number of ‘arctic ambient’ albums under the recording alias Biosphere. Jenssen is based in Tromso, the 'Paris of the North', which is situated just 400 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

Insomnia Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its origin aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Erik Skjoldbjærg's Insomnia arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm LTRT magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using iZotope RX 3. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack.

Colorist: Lee Kline.
Scanning: Nordisk Film, Oslo."

The high-definition transfer is one of the most impressive I've seen from Criterion this year. Indeed, depth and clarity are simply superb, while colors are exceptionally vivid and lush. Where light is captured in unique ways -- for example, see screencapture #2 -- definition and clarity are far superior than they are on the R1 DVD release of Insomnia. Contrast levels are also stabilized. The shimmer and edge flicker that appear on the DVD release have been eliminated. Furthermore, there are no encoding or compression anomalies. Overall image stability is excellent. The high-definition transfer is also free of debris, scratches, and dirt. All in all, this is a fabulous presentation of Insomnia and quite possibly one of the strongest upgrades in Criterion's Blu-ray catalog. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Insomnia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Norwegian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with some portions of Swedish). For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The improvements in quality in the audio department are also substantial. The sound is crisper (listen to the gunshots in the beginning of the film), depth is better, and there is a wider range of nuanced dynamics. Geir Jenssen's score also breathes easier, though it has primarily a supportive role. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Insomnia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Insomnia. In Norwegian, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080i).

• Erik Skjoldbjærg and Stellan Skarsgard - in this brand new video interview, director Erik Skjoldbjærg and Stellan Skarsgard discuss the production history of Insomnia, its unique identity (and specifically its twisting of the classic noir qualities), the locations seen in the film and their unique qualities (the majority of the film was shot in Tromso, director Erik Skjoldbjærg's hometown), cinematographer Erling Thurmann-Andersen's important contribution, the casting process, the original script for the film, etc. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in Oslo in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Erik Skjoldbjærg - presented here are two short films which Erik Skjoldbjærg directed while he attending the National Film and Television School in London. Erik Skjoldbjærg was the first Norwegian to attend the prestigious institution.
  
  1. Near Winter (1993) - in Norwegian, with printed English subtitles. (35 min, 1080p).
  2. Close to Home (1994) - in English, not subtitled. (31 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring Jonathan Romney's essay "Unbearable Lightness" and technical credits.

Insomnia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjærg's fantastic neo-noir thriller Insomnia -- which deserves a lot of credit for the popularization of the Nordic Noir genre -- is a stunner. Recently restored in 4K, the film looks simply spectacular in high-definition. In fact, I have to say that this is the best looking Blu-ray release I have seen from Criterion this year. Don't miss it, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.