{{short description|2012 Icelandic film}} {{use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{infobox film | name = Black's Game | image = Svartur_á_leik.jpg | alt = | caption = Film poster | native_name = {{infobox name module|is|Svartur á leik}} <!-- {{Infobox name module|language|title}} or {{Infobox name module|title}} --> | director = Óskar Þór Axelsson | writer = | screenplay = Óskar Þór Axelsson | story = | based_on = {{based on |Svartur á leik |{{ill|Stefán Máni|is}} }} <!-- {{Based on|title of the original work|creator of the original work|additional creator(s), if necessary}} --> | producer = {{plainlist| * Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson * Skúli Malmquist * Arnar Knútsson }} | starring = {{plainlist| * Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson * Damon Younger * María Birta Bjarnadóttir }} | narrator = | cinematography = Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson | editing = Kristján Loðmfjörð | music = Frank Hall | studio = {{plainlist| * Zik Zak Filmworks * Filmus }}<!-- or: | production_companies = --> | distributor = Sena <!-- or: | distributors = --> | released = {{film date|df=yes|2012|02|01|Rotterdam|2012|03|02|Iceland}} | runtime = 104 minutes | country = Iceland | language = Icelandic | budget = {{val |150000000}} ISK<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-03-13 |df=dmy |title=Höfðu ekki efni á að auglýsa og notuðu því samfélagsmiðla |url=https://www.visir.is/g/20121355401d |website=Fréttablaðið |language=is}}</ref> | gross = }}
'''''Black's Game''''' ({{langx|is|'''Svartur á leik'''}}) is an Icelandic crime film from 2012, directed and written by Óskar Þór Axelsson.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black's Game |url=https://www.icelandicfilms.info/films/nr/579 |website=Icelandic Film Centre |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Felperin |first=Leslie |date=2012-02-11 |df=dmy |title=Black's Game |url=https://variety.com/2012/film/markets-festivals/black-s-game-1117947055/ |magazine=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rooney |first=David |date=2012-02-09 |df=dmy |title=Black's Game: Berlin Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/blacks-game-berlin-film-review-288650/ |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2012-02-05 |df=dmy |author=Ard Vijn |title=IFFR 2012 Review: BLACK'S GAME |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2012/02/iffr-2012-review-blacks-game.html |magazine=Screen Anarchy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2012-08-02 |df=dmy |author=Andrew Mack |title=Fantasia 2012 Review: BLACK'S GAME |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2012/08/fantasia-2012-blacks-game.html |magazine=Screen Anarchy}}</ref> It is based on the novel of the same name by {{ill|Stefán Máni|is}} about the drug trade in Reykjavík in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite news |date=2010-03-22 |title=Hostel-framleiðandi vinnur að íslenskri glæpamynd |trans-title=Hostel producer working on Icelandic crime film |url=https://www.visir.is/g/20101483232d |newspaper=Vísir |language=is |df=dmy}}</ref>
In the 2013 Edda Awards, Óskar Þór Axelsson won Screenplay of the Year (''Handrit ársins''), Damon Younger won Best Supporting Actor (''Leikari í aukahlutverki'') and María Birta Bjarnadóttir won Best Supporting Actress (''Leikkona í aukahlutverki'') for the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.icelandreview.com/news/the-deep-wins-11-edda-awards/ |title=The Deep Wins 11 Edda Awards |newspaper=Iceland Review |date=2013-02-18 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://eddan.is/?page_id=1206 |website=Edda Awards |language=is |title=Edduverðlaun 2013 |date=2013-09-05 |df=dmy}}</ref> It became the second highest grossing Icelandic film of all time.<ref name="CAA">{{cite web |url=https://cai.is/artists/oskar-thor/ |title=Óskar Þór Axelsson |website=Creative Artists Iceland}}</ref> A prequel to ''Black's Game'' was due for release in 2024, and a sequel in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-10-06 |title=Svartur á þríleik |trans-title= |url=https://www.mbl.is/folk/frettir/2022/10/06/svartur_a_thrileik/ |website=Morgunblaðið |language=is |df=dmy}}</ref>
== Plot == {{Expand section|date=December 2025}} ''Black's Game'' takes place during the uncertain times of the mid-nineties, when Reykjavík's underworld is expanding and becoming more dangerous. The audience follows the rise and fall of a cast of characters; Stebbi, an ordinary man who gets involved in the drug world through his childhood friend, Tóti. Tóti works for Jói Faraó, the country's biggest drug baron since the 1970s. Tóti together with Brúnó take over Jói's business and change the drug market. At the beginning of the film, Stebbi is facing charges for a fight he got into when he was drunk. He comes across Tóta, who offers him the best criminal lawyer in the country if he comes to work for him. A little later, when Brúnó returns from his self-imposed one-year exile abroad, Stebbi sees that there is a lot of tension under the surface. Brúnó is amoral and thrives on danger and crime. Tóti, on the other hand, is in touch with reality and only wants to run a profitable company. An internal conflict begins with Stebbi is stuck in the middle. The story is told from Stebbi's point of view, and the first half of the film goes back and forth between Stebbi, who is learning the ropes and becoming a member of the gang with decent prospects, and Tóti's backstory and the beginnings of the gang. In the second half, Brúnó has returned and the gang has begun to break up. It ends with Stebbi finding himself stuck between Tóti and Brúnó.<ref>{{cite web |title=Svartur á leik (2012) |url=https://kvikmyndir.is/mynd/?id=7448 |website=kvikmyndir.is |language=is}}</ref>
== Cast ==
* Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson as Stebbi Psycho * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Tóti * Damon Younger as Brúnó * María Birta Bjarnadóttir as Dagný * {{ill|Vignir Rafn Valþórsson|is}} as Robbi Rotta * Egill Einarsson as Sævar K * Björn Jörundur Friðbjörnsson as Óskar Tattoo * Ísak Hinriksson as Nóri litli * Andri Már Birgisson as Rósi * Þór Jóhannesson as Eddi Krueger * Rúnar Freyr Gíslason as Árni Jónsson * Hilmar Jónsson as Konráð Geirsson * Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson as Jói Faraó * {{ill|Steinn Ármann Magnússon|is}} as Einar Skakki * {{ill|Sveinn Geirsson|is}} as Viktor
== Production ==
In 2005, the film companies Zik Zak Filmworks and Filmus bought the film rights to the book and employed {{ill|Stefán Mána|is}} to write the screenplay.<ref>{{cite news |date=2005-04-23 |title=Svartur á leik eftir Stefán Mána kvikmynduð |trans-title=Black's Game by Stefán Máni filmed |url=https://www.mbl.is/folk/frettir/2005/04/23/svartur_a_leik_eftir_stefan_mana_kvikmyndud/ |newspaper=Morgunblaðið |language=is |df=dmy}}</ref> However, Oskar Þór Axelsson later took over the job of screenwriter and in 2008 was chosen as the film's director. ''Black's Game'' took over seven years to produce and financing proved difficult. Andri Sveinsson and Heiðar Guðjónsson were the main investors in the film, but it also received a {{val |64000000}} ISK grant from the Icelandic Film Fund. At the beginning of 2009, and auditions were announced for the students of the Iceland Academy of Arts.<ref>{{cite web |date=2009-02-14 |title=Manna undirheima |trans-title=Human Underworld |url=http://www.dv.is/frettir/2009/2/13/manna-undirheima/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214184552/http://www.dv.is/frettir/2009/2/13/manna-undirheima/ |archive-date=2009-02-14 |website=DV |df=dmy}}</ref> In preparation for his role in the film, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson hired a personal trainer and started exercising six times a week.<ref>{{cite web |date=2011-04-14 |df=dmy |title=Jóhannes Haukur Ordinn Helmassadur |url=http://www.dv.is/mobile/folk/2011/4/14/johannes-haukur-ordinn-helmassadur/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130702160412/http://www.dv.is/mobile/folk/2011/4/14/johannes-haukur-ordinn-helmassadur/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 July 2013 |website=DV}}</ref> Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson was chosen for the role of Stebbi, but Stefán Máni, the author of the book, said that he had always envisioned him as the character.<ref>{{cite news |date=2009-11-12 |title=Þorvaldur er Stebbi Psycho |trans-title=Thorvaldur is a Stebbi Psycho |url=https://www.visir.is/g/20091069285d |newspaper=Vísir |language=is |df=dmy}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.icelandicfilms.info/films/nr/579 Black's Game] at the Icelandic Film Centre * {{IMDb title|1860181|Black's Game}}
Category:2012 films Category:Icelandic drama films Category:2012 crime films Category:2010s Icelandic-language films