Cold Fever

Year: 1995 - Artistic License Films  Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson  Screenplay: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and Jim Stark  Cinematography: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson  Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens, Gisli Halldorsson, Laura Hughes, and Seijun Suzuki

Nagase plays Atsushi Hirata, an upwardly mobile junior executive in a Japanese firm. He is the stereotypical Japanese businessman in every way, conforming to what the Japanese business community expects of successful members. He sings karaoke at the bar with his associates until late hours. He is also an avid golfer. Adhering to the norm, he has booked his vacation with a solid week of golf in Hawaii, with the added prestige of optimal tee times. As his vacation draws near, Hirata's grandfather reminds him he has an obligation to fulfill. Hirata's parents died seven years previously in an accident in a remote region of Iceland. Being the oldest son, Hirata is obligated to perform the memorial rites for his parents at the scene of their death. Giving up his vacation in Hawaii for the ice and snow of the Arctic is not exactly what Hirata had in mind. He refuses his obligation saying that he does not believe in the superstitious ritual. Ultimately, the guilt of neglecting his parents causes Hirata to relent and endure the embarrassment of asking his boss for an extended vacation in order to travel to Iceland.

Hirata is still in denial about the loss of his parents. This becomes obvious by the lack of preparation he has made for his trip to Iceland. Hirata just wants to get the ritual over with and get back home. He has not packed any warm clothing or made any travel arrangements for after his arrival in Iceland. The trip starts out auspiciously. Upon landing, he gets on the wrong bus that takes him miles for where he wants to be. In contrast to Japan, the people of Iceland seem to be in no particular hurry to do anything. Everyone he meets seems strangely out of touch with reality. One example is when Hirata gets a ride in a taxi and the driver stops off to sing in a Christmas play while Hirata waits in the cab. Disgusted, Hirata tries to walk to town but is forced to hitch-hike in the back of an open truck with a group of singing laborers.
 

It seems that Hirata's trip has turned into an unfortunate hellish ordeal. He buys a car from a psychic nut case. The car barely runs and the radio breaks so that all he can listen to is annoying heavy metal or Icelandic pop music. When the car gets a flat tire, he discovers that the spare is flat. Foolishly he decides to hike cross country in search of help. He fortunately happens upon a secluded house with a couple that feeds him and provides help with his tire the next day. All through the film, just when it seems as if Hirata will have to end his quest, something always turns up to assist him. It is as though he is fated to fulfill his obligation.  Metaphorically, Iceland represents the land of the dead or the spirit world for Hirata. The whole landscape is seemingly dead and barren. Most of Hirata's frustrations and ordeals stem from his inability to accept his situation. The cold he has to endure is a constant reminder of his own fragile mortality.

In a diner he meets a friendly woman (Laura Hughes) whose hobby it is to photograph funerals. Here is a woman who acknowledges and records death and grieving everyday. Many of the Icelanders believe the landscape is filled with ghosts and spirits. On a secluded road when his car fails, Hirata has to sleep in the car overnight. In the mourning a fairy appears in the guise of a little girl. She magically starts the car with a eerie scream. Hirata is unsure if he has begun imagining things. His willingness to believe in the supernatural directly benefits him by starting his car so that he can continue his journey.

Hirata later meets up with two Americans (Lili Taylor and Fisher Stevens) who are stranded on the road.  They turn out to be fugitive robbers and possibly killers.  Here again he is confronted by death. There is a scene where one of the Americans robs a teenage girl at a small shop. From outside the store we can hear gunshots, but it up to us and Hirata to decide weather or not the girl is killed by the robber.  The couple steals Hirata's car and leave him stranded by the road. He finally makes it to an inn where the locals are having a cowboy night. Hirata is told that the road to where his parents died is closed for the winter. Feeling he has failed, he drowns his sorrows with a drink called Black Death. Fortunately, Hirata strikes up a conversation with an old man, who thinks he can help Hirata reach his destination.

In the morning the two embark on their journey by jeep and then by horse. They stay in a cabin near the place where Hirata's parents died. The two men talk about the fairies and ghosts. The old man believes that Hirata is doing a honorable thing. That night, the old man has a strange dream about ghosts and spirits. In the mourning, he tells Hirata that Hirata must finish the journey alone. The place where Hirata must go is spiritual place in his own mind, not just a physical location. That is why Hirata must journey there alone. When Hirata reaches the spot in the river where his parents died, he does the memorial ritual and finally grieves for the loss of his parents. By enduring the problems in making the journey, he repays, for his neglect of his parents. He also learns a valuable lesson about life and death.

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