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When The Light Breaks

Play trailer Poster for When The Light Breaks 2024 1h 20m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 29 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
When the light breaks on a long summer’s day in Iceland. From one sunset to another, Una, a young art student encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.

Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Runarsson makes a virtue out of this narrative simplicity, however, and delivers the equivalent of sweetly moving “slow” cinema, where we get to luxuriate in the characters for long, long, sometimes wordless takes... Rated: 3/5 May 23, 2025 Full Review Tara Brady Irish Times Composed of small gestures and unspoken truths, it’s a bonsai miniature of the vastness of overwhelming grief. Rated: 4/5 May 22, 2025 Full Review Cath Clarke Guardian Director Rúnar Rúnarsson is more interested in the emotions rolling over her than plot; his delicate wisp of film feels true to life with a quietly intense performance by Elín Hall as the girlfriend, Una. Rated: 3/5 May 20, 2025 Full Review Nick Hasted The Arts Desk Rúnarsson is less interested in death than the responses it wrenches from lives on adulthood’s cusp. It’s a slight yet profound tale told over 80 concise minutes... Rated: 4/5 May 28, 2025 Full Review Emma Simmonds Radio Times This is a nuanced, intimate, and hopeful look at an unfathomable situation that says so much in its short runtime. Rated: 4/5 May 23, 2025 Full Review Rory O'Connor The Film Stage There is a rawness, warmth, and depth of feeling to When the Light Breaks that feels contrary to more cynical Western-European tragicomic traditions. Rated: B+ Nov 22, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews
When The Light Breaks

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Cast & Crew

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Rúnar Rúnarsson

Director

Elín Hall

Una

Mikael Kaaber

Gunni

Katla Njálsdóttir

Klara

Baldur Einarsson

Diddi

Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsson

Siggi

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When The Light Breaks

When the Light Breaks (2024) When the Light Breaks (2024) When the Light Breaks (2024) When the Light Breaks (2024) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When the light breaks on a long summer’s day in Iceland. From one sunset to another, Una, a young art student encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.
Director
Rúnar Rúnarsson
Producer
Heather Millard, Rúnar Rúnarsson
Screenwriter
Rúnar Rúnarsson
Production Co
Compass Films
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Icelandic
Runtime
1h 20m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)