Quick Look: Insomnia (1997)

Insomnia is one of my favorite foreign films and one of the best films of the 1990's.  Stellan Skarsgard portrays Swedish detective Jonas Engstrom, who is sent to a town in northern Norway to investigate a murder case with his partner Erik Vik, played by Sverre Anker Ousdal.  While pursuing a lead, Engstrom, Vik, and several local policemen trace the killer to a shed on the coast, and a foot chase ensues through some fog which has rolled in.  One policeman is shot in leg, Vik gets shot and killed, while the killer escapes.  The stakes are high as Engstrom continues the pursuit for weeks while seemingly losing his mental facilities.  The film is directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg, and is unrated, but I would consider it like a PG-13 or R, for subject matter and violence.  Language tracks are Norwegian and Swedish.

**spoiler alert**  The title of film is derived from the fact that Engstrom is unable to sleep in Norway; first because the town they are in is above the Artic Circle, the proverbial "land of the midnight sun" where the sun is present 24 hours a day for half of the year (including the timeline of the movie), and second, because of possible guilt over shooting and killing Vik during the previously mentioned foot chase.  Even worse for Engstrom is that the killer, whose name is Jon Holt (Bjorn Floberg), witnessed him shooting Vik, and now is going to blackmail Engstrom with the information to protect himself from arrest and prosecution.
Insomnia could be considered somewhat of neo-noir film, and the reason it plays out much better than a typical police procedural/ murder mystery is that Engstrom is a clearly flawed character, and Skjoldbjaerg never really lets the audience love or hate him.  Right after the Vik shooting we actually see Engstrom seemingly ready to "confess" the truth, but then he is let off the hook as the senior detective assigns blame to the suspect without having asked Engstrom the question.  Engstrom just goes along with this, so what are we to think at this moment?  Engstrom is truly a bad guy with no morals, or that he made a mistake and will make things right by solving the original crime?  We see several other scenes play out with this same ambiguity, as well as Engstrom's mental state start to deteriorate, like when he begins hallucinating images of Vik.  It is masterful work done by Skarsgard, and equally excellent direction.
The scenes and effects were fairly minimal, but highly effective in creating the tension of man who is under pressure; the walls almost closing in at some moments, and in a mental and physical haze from the lack of sleep or guilty conscience (or both).  This film succeeds with subtlety, production, and nuance, not with explosions, an "ah-ha Hollywood" moment, a big car chase, or a shoot-out.  I highly recommend Insomnia - fans of Skarsgard, and foreign films will be in for an even bigger treat.

- There is a 2002 remake starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and directed by Chris Nolan.