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When the Light Breaks
Directed by
Rúnar Rúnarsson
2026
80m
Drama
6.6
97%
6.7
Add to Watchlist
Una grapples with grief while harboring a secret, unable to fully express her emotions, as she navigates challenging events swirling around her.
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Where to Watch When the Light Breaks
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YouTube
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Cast of When the Light Breaks
Elín Hall
Una
Mikael Kaaber
Gunni
Katla Njálsdóttir
Klara
Ágúst Örn B. Wigum
Bassi
Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsdóttir
Siggi
Baldur Einarsson
Diddi
Daria Testoedova
Jane
Þorsteinn Bachmann
Tómas Howser Harðarson
Drengur
Bjarni Kristbjörnsson
Student at arts university
Kolbrún Sara Ósk Kristinsdóttir
Woman at funeral
Alex Leó Kristinsson
Banani
Kolbeinn Sveinsson
Student at arts university
Einar Haraldsson
A man in the church (uncredited)
Kristinn Hilmarsson
A man in the church (Uncredited)
Benedikt Erlingsson
Atli Óskar Fjalarsson
Ana Vilenica
Berglind Alda Ástþórsdóttir
When the Light Breaks Ratings & Reviews
The Film Stage
Rory O'Connor
There is a rawness, warmth, and depth of feeling to When the Light Breaks that feels contrary to more cynical Western-European tragicomic traditions.
Collider
Anna Miller
When the Light Breaks is the poignant and eerie reflection of a day that can be so personal, yet also so universally understood. Rúnarsson takes his dreamlike vignette of such a specific human experience and creates something so ubiquitous.
Awards Daily
Zhuo-Ning Su
I think Rúnarsson's screenplay falls a bit on the thin side even for a 82-min film. Having said that, I do like how the story organically turns into one about the two women and how it depicts this dynamic haunted by both rivalry and understanding.
Film Inquiry
Wilson Kwong
With a short runtime of only 82 minutes, When the Light Breaks ( Ljósbrot) is a sombre Icelandic drama that shines in its truly restrained approach to storytelling.
InSession Film
Hector A. Gonzalez
There are certain directorial decisions that Rúnarsson applies, which make When the Light Breaks lack the potency of its topics and the relatable power of the performances.
Movies We Texted About
Sarah Manvel
When The Light Breaks has an emotional impact much stronger than its brief running time, and anyone who has lost someone will appreciate the strength of its achievement.
The Hollywood Reporter
Lovia Gyarkye
Alongside its study of a singular kind of heartbreak, Runarsson's film offers images that anyone who can relate to losing a loved one at a young age will find impossible to shake.
Eye for Film
Amber Wilkinson
Beyond the dark loneliness of grief, is the soft light of a shared mourning.
Next Best Picture
David Cuevas
"When the Light Breaks" never once relishes in miserablist tropes as a result of its deliberate form. Instead, through the power of durational cinema, Rúnarsson's lost souls reconcile through stillness and silence.
IndieWire
Adam Solomons
All involved are doing good, meaningful work with a simple script and a story that explains little.
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
There's a poignant potency to this cycle of passing days, each containing its own set of endings and beginnings.
Deadline Hollywood Daily
Stephanie Bunbury
Rúnarsson has kept his ambitions small; his canvas is limited, his narrative spare -- so spare, indeed, that it sometimes drags. Within his self-imposed limitations, however, he draws a portrait of muffled grief that feels true and poignant.
Sunshine State Cineplex
Alan French
The passion and feeling emanating from Rúnar Rúnarsson's When the Light Breaks leaves an undeniable mark on its audience.
Moveable Fest
Stephen Saito
Even after the film leaves audiences plenty to sit with, it continues to be deeply moving well after it ends.
Variety
Guy Lodge
Rúnarsson's film eschews easy melodrama for a more tacit, sensory exploration of the sudden connections that death forges among the living.
Watch When the Light Breaks Videos
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