1997 · thriller · crime · noir
Insomnia
Directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg1h 36m1997
Detectives Jonas and Erik are called to the midnight sun country of northern Norway to investigate a recent homicide, but their plan to arrest the killer goes awry, and Jonas mistakenly shoots Erik. The suspect escapes, and a frightened Jonas pins Erik's death on the fugitive. Jonas continues to pursue the killer as he seeks to protect himself; however, his mounting guilt and the omnipresent sun plague him with an insomnia that affects his sanity.
Our read: Insomnia (1997) reads as a heavy, steady, grounded thriller · crime · noir entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.
Heavy, steady, extreme thriller / crime, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- intense
- bleak
- cold
Watching Insomnia tonight? Spin for your lens.
Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.
Your lens for tonight
?
Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.
Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
More info & search links
How Insomnia feels to watch.
Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.
What watching it is actually like.
“You want Nordic guilt noir where midnight sun erodes a detective's conscience.”
Skip it tonight — You need subtitles-free viewing or cannot sit with moral rot tonight.
Eight films that feel like this one.
Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Insomnia, with why →
Discussion
Make it a movie night.
Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.
Pick tonight's film →