It is 1953, and Freya, who had gone to America as an officer’s bride, has returned home to begin a new life. She moves into a small house of distant relatives in a quiet fishing village within Iceland. But unlike the drab, plump girl who went abroad, Freya, now in her twenties, is a stunningly beautiful woman. With her long chestnut brown hair, slender figure, and chic American fashions, she is somewhat of a mystery to the women of the household, including the inquisitive eleven-year-old Agga, and especially to the men of the community. But as Agga soon notices, strange things have been happening since Freya’s arrival. Women are asserting their independence and men are mysteriously keeling over. Is Freya a murderess? A goddess of love? These are questions young Agga would very much like to have answered.An Icelandic film set in the 1950s, The Seagull’s Laughter supports the dramatic truism that there are only really two tales to tell– the tale of a long journey, or one in which a stranger comes to town. This charming and funny film falls into the latter category. The stranger is Freya (Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir), an Icelandic diva who returns from America after her serviceman husband dies, only to immediately stun her household of relatives into awed admiration as she vamps with her impressive wardrobe and charms the town’s men. Her actions are observed by the women of the house, including the keen-eyed young girl Agga (Ugla Egilsdóttir), who comes to suspect Freya of murder. There’s not much suspense in the chicanery that ensues, with the film rooted in these women’s sisterhood of willfulness rather than the who-done-it mechanics of a standard-issue thriller. At its best, the film interlocks with greater Icelandic literary and dramatic traditions, the sagas with their strong-willed female protagonists and the fortitude of characters from the works of Nobel laureate Haldor Laxness. The cinematography is a step up from recent Icelandic films like Noi and 101 Reykjavik, with otherworldly blue twilight and gnarled geography suggesting Middle Earth more than Middle-Atlantic. The Seagull’s Laughter is a comedy about cold-blooded murder that naturally leaves one feeling pleasantly warm. –Ryan Boudinot
The Seagull’s Laughter
Pinned on December 22, 2012 at 4:52 am by Jessica Buckley
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Steamy stew of a story Other places provide good descriptions of this movie; I’ll just mention how it made me feel, which is lighthearted and happy.These are characters you’ll never forget from a world that no longer exists in land that is timeless. The story is full of warmth, humor, paradox, and intrigue.The protaganist, Freya, is beautiful, cunning and principled;is she a witch or a saint? You’re never really sure. Agga, her 11-year old foil, tracks her every move and often directs the action; she’s a clever and wise 11-year old who’s also a kid’s kid, given to spontaneous cartwheels and pre-adolescent sulks. Together, the two set an entire town on it’s ear and nothing is ever the same.This movie is atmospheric and attentive to detail, from down-covered beds to the crunch of the snow to hanging fish and fresh-brewed coffee. All create a distinctive sense of time and place. And the magnificent, Icelandic light and austere terrain is breathtakingly beautiful.A lot of the story is charming/funny, even quizzical, like the women’s subdued reactions to catastrophic or unexpected news, or the grandfather’s blythe acceptance of the wacky antics of his estrogen-laden household. Whether just Nordic temperament or great story telling, I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’s great fun. Imagine Alan Ball collabroating with Frank Capra after consulting with Ocsar Wilde, and you’ve got it. Highly recommended.
A Fine Black Comedy With A Strong Woman This is an intriguing, deadpan black comedy of women deciding that men often are boors, unreliable and untrustworthy, and while at times nice play things, they always need to be kept in check.It’s 1952, and after seven years in America Freya (Margret Vihjalmsdottir) has returned a widow to her small Icelandic fishing village. What happened to the officer she married? It’s not quite clear. She’s slim, sexual, with trunks of clothes. She’s welcomed into the home of her relatives, essentially a house of women whose male head is often away at sea on his fishing trawler. His wife, an elderly, pleasant and straightforward woman, is really the boss, and in the house with her lives her sister-in-law, her two daughters and her granddaughter whose parents died. It’s a respectable working class home in a village that is socially divided and proper. Freya, however, is not about to settle for the traditional female status quo. And her 11 year old cousin, Agga (Ugla Egilsdottir), is torn between disliking her intensely and being intrigued with her.Freya is a liberated woman before female liberation was thought of much. She is aware of her sexual power and she’s not going to settle for second best. She has a way of strengthening the resolve of the other women around her. And she seems prepared to take drastic action when called upon. The wife-beating drunkard who is the husband of her best friend dies in a mysterious fire. The man she marries who turns out to be tied to his mother’s apron strings (and a drunk and adulterer to boot) winds up at the foot of a flight of stairs, dead. At first it’s not clear how many of the women may have helped him on his way. And through all of this Agga is observing, and sometimes interfering. The conclusion of the film has Freya an undoubtedly wealthy widow again, who probably is going to wind up running the town. The women she has encountered are considerably more forceful and confident than they would ever have been without her. In some cases some of the other women are probably going to regret she ever came back from America. Agga, too, has changed. From a smart, resentful 11 year-old Agga has become a young woman of 14, starting to be conscious of what being a woman can mean. I have the feeling she’s going to remember Freya’s lessons.The movie is a comedy, but a comedy with an edge. Freya can be selfish and at times manipulative. Most of the men either seem to be oblivious of what they take for granted or become unselfconscious oafs. The bright male spark comes from a young policeman who doesn’t take Agga’s stories of Freya seriously…but then begins to notice that Agga isn’t just a little girl anymore. The Icelandic scenery is beautiful, bright and cold. And much of the movie’s music is pulled from Forties’ swing. The opening and closing theme is a quartet singing Sh-boom. I liked the movie and recommend it.The DVD looked great.