When the Light Breaks (2024) by Rúnar Rúnarsson: A Day of Grief That Glows in Silence
- dailyentertainment95
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Short Summary – Grief in the Glow of a Single Day
In Reykjavík, Una, a young performance art student, is stunned by the sudden death of Diddi—her close friend and secret lover—during a catastrophic tunnel explosion. Over a single day, from one sunset to the next, she drifts through the shock, the complexity of her hidden relationship, and moments of fragile connection. The film unfolds as a quiet meditation on loss, love, and unspoken truths, framed in tender, painterly cinematography.
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27476906/
Link to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/when-the-light-breaks (UK), https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/when-the-light-breaks (France), https://www.justwatch.com/be/film/when-the-light-breaks (Belgium)
Detailed Summary – A Day in the Shadow of Loss
The story begins with the ordinary summer rhythms of Reykjavík before an abrupt tragedy: a deadly explosion in a traffic tunnel. Among the victims is Diddi, a charismatic young man secretly involved with Una while still in a public relationship with his girlfriend, Klara.
When Una hears the news, her world slows to a halt. She navigates a series of emotionally charged spaces: visiting the hospital to identify belongings, moving through hushed social gatherings, and crossing paths with friends who know nothing of her deeper connection to Diddi.
The core emotional thread lies in her unexpected meeting with Klara. Their interaction—ranging from guarded politeness to moments of almost sisterly recognition—becomes a mirror for the dual grief they carry.
In a sequence of profound stillness, Una attends a memorial service at Hallgrímskirkja church, where her performance art blurs the boundary between private mourning and public expression.
As evening falls again, Una and Klara find themselves in Diddi’s bedroom, surrounded by traces of his life. In a moment of rare intimacy, they lie side-by-side, the light shifting through the window as a requiem plays—a final image that captures both loss and a tentative sense of shared humanity.
Director's Vision – A Daylit Study of Grief’s Rhythm
Rúnar Rúnarsson compresses the timeline to a single day, allowing audiences to experience the disorienting elasticity of time in grief.
The director’s signature minimalist style is evident in long, unhurried takes, static camera positions, and sparse dialogue—forcing the viewer to engage with subtleties in body language and visual detail.
Shot on 16mm film, the grain and texture evoke the fragility of memory. The use of natural light is meticulous, transitioning from soft dusk glows to stark midday brightness and then into muted evening shadows, reflecting Una’s emotional progression.
Rúnarsson avoids overt melodrama, instead inviting the audience into a meditative state where the silences are as revealing as the words.
Themes – Love, Loss, and the Space Between
Private vs. Public Mourning: The tension between Una’s hidden love and the public grief rituals creates a layered narrative of emotional concealment and exposure.
Love Behind Silence: The bond that forms between Una and Klara shows how even relationships rooted in secrecy can give way to unexpected empathy and solidarity.
Time as Emotion: By structuring the narrative within a 24-hour cycle, the film captures how grief distorts perception—moments stretch into eternity or collapse into an instant.
Art as Emotional Language: Una’s performance at the memorial highlights the role of art in expressing what cannot be spoken, turning personal pain into a shared experience.
Key Success Factors – Elegance Through Simplicity
Elín Hall delivers a restrained yet deeply affecting performance, communicating raw vulnerability without the need for excessive dialogue.
The concise 80-minute runtime sustains emotional intensity without diluting its impact.
Symbolic and carefully composed imagery elevates the film’s emotional weight, such as light refracting through glass or slow tracking shots of empty urban spaces.
The music, including Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Ódi et Amo,” enriches the mood, bridging moments of silence with emotional resonance.
Awards & Nominations – A Quiet Winner on the Festival Stage
The film premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section on May 15, 2024, where it drew critical attention for its lyrical style. It went on to win the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival, further cementing Rúnarsson’s reputation for crafting emotionally potent minimalist cinema.
Critics Reception – Critical Acclaim in Soft Tones
The Guardian: Described the film as a “softly intense exploration of grief,” highlighting the authenticity in Elín Hall’s performance and the power in her scenes with Klara.
Rotten Tomatoes: Features overwhelmingly positive reviews, with critics praising its realistic pacing, emotional honesty, and visual elegance.
Metacritic: Scores generally favorable reviews, with emphasis on the film’s clarity of vision and restraint in tackling heavy themes.Overall: Critics agree the film succeeds in transforming an intimate story into a universally resonant meditation on mourning.
Reviews – Audiences Moved by Minimalism
Next Best Picture (David Cuevas): Celebrated the harmony between the visual composition, musical score, and emotional depth, calling it a masterclass in understated storytelling.
Metal Magazine: Labeled it “a formally rigorous and poetic meditation on grief,” noting the precision in how each frame captures both external environments and inner states.Overall Summary: Viewers appreciate the film’s ability to linger in memory, its economy of storytelling, and its refusal to over-explain
Why to Recommend Movie – Light and Loss Intertwined in a Single Breath
Delivers an emotionally powerful portrayal of grief without falling into sentimentality or predictable melodrama, making the emotional journey feel authentic and deeply human.
Demonstrates masterful visual storytelling—every shot is composed with symbolic intent, using natural light and subtle framing to mirror Una’s emotional state.
Employs a unique real-time, one-day narrative structure that reflects the disorienting nature of sudden loss, where moments stretch or collapse unpredictably.
Speaks to universal human experiences—love, regret, connection—while remaining specific to Icelandic culture and sensibilities, giving it both intimacy and global resonance.
Ideal for viewers who appreciate contemplative cinema that invites reflection long after the credits roll, rewarding patience with emotional depth and poetic imagery.
Movie Trend – Slow Cinema’s Intimate Wave
Belongs to a wave of contemporary European slow cinema, focusing on natural rhythms, extended takes, and emotional realism, much like works by Nuri Bilge Ceylan or Roy Andersson.
Social Trend – Grief Shared in the Open
Aligns with a broader cultural movement toward more open conversations about loss, encouraging shared mourning and destigmatizing emotional vulnerability.
Final Verdict – A Sunset That Stays in the Soul
When the Light Breaks is an intimate, lyrical portrait of love and loss compressed into a single day. Through Rúnarsson’s minimalist yet emotionally rich direction and Elín Hall’s luminous performance, it offers a quiet but profound reflection on the ways grief reshapes time, relationships, and self-understanding. It is a film that leaves the audience carrying its final images long after the credits fade.
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