A gritty Icelandic thriller with a tense atmospheric concoction, Jar City is both satisfying and pleasantly realistic.

Based on the Icelandic best-seller Tainted Blood (Icelandic title Myrin) by Arnaldur Indriaason, (winner of the Scandinavian crime writers' Glass Key Award in 2002), Jar City was the Icelandic Official Entry for the 2008 Academy Awards and won Best Film in Iceland's Edda Awards.

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur (101 Reykjavik, The Sea), Jar City stars Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (Beowulf & Grendel) in a role which garlanded him the Edda Best Actor award, Best Actor in the European Film Awards and the Best Actor, Silver Dolphin Award at the Tróia International Film Festival.

An old man is found dead in his flat. Inspector Erlendur (Sigurðsson) and his crew don't have much to go on but a photograph of a young girl's grave gives them a lead. They discover that many years ago the victim was accused, though not convicted, of horrible crimes.

Did the old man's past come back to haunt him? As Erlendur reopens this very cold case, he follows a trail of unusual forensic evidence, uncovering secrets that are much larger than the murder of one old man - with clues that run deep into the genetic bloodline of an entire country.

A further story follows a biologist at Iceland's genetic research lab who delves into the reasons behind the seemingly inexplicable death of his five year old daughter who died of a mysterious brain disease. The man's search for answers is going to lead to the two stories becoming linked.

Director Kormakur has created a gritty concoction here making the most of a bleak and dark landscape, unravelling puzzles of forensics and adding moments of black humour. If you admired films like Seven you'd be sure to admire this convincing cop tale from the chilling depths of Scandinavia.