''The Seagull's Laughter'' () is a 2001 Icelandic film directed by Ágúst Guðmundsson. It stars Ugla Egilsdóttir as Agga, an orphaned preteen distrusting of her cousin Freyja, played by

Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir (born 10 March 1966) is an Icelandic actress from Reykjavík. Early life and education Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir ( born 10. Mars 1966) is an Icelandic actress, director, and producer. Mrs. Vilhjalmsdóttir is a well ...

, who turns heads on her return from America, no longer the chubby teen that the Icelandic townspeople remember. Set around 1950, the story portrays a pivotal moment in Iceland’s recent history: newly independent, with the legacy of the Second World War still prominent, Iceland is modernising and internationalising. The film is set in

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður, officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region, on the s ...

, now effectively a suburb of Reykjavík, then a fishing town outside it. It is a close adaptation of the novel ''Mávahlátur'' by Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir, published in 1995 by

Mál og menning Mál og menning (, ) is an Icelandic publishing house, established in 1937. The press has published the work of many of Iceland's best known authors, among them Þórbergur Þórðarson, Jóhannes úr Kötlum, Svava Jakobsdóttir, Þórarinn El ...

. It was Iceland's submission to the

74th Academy Awards The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly ...

for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

The story is set around the 1950s, not very long after Iceland's independence from Denmark. The arrival of modernity in Iceland, including democracy, feminism, and new technologies and fashions, is an implicit theme throughout the text. The narrative is presented from the perspective of Agga (played by Ugla Egilsdóttir), who during the three or so years covered by the story goes from being a preteen girl to being a young woman. The main agent in the story, however, is Agga's older step-cousin Freyja (played by

). Freyja returns to Iceland from America after her American army officer husband died of a heart attack two months before. Freyja, who is dressed in American clothing, brought back 7 luggages of clothes with her from America, and amazes her Icelandic family - Agga's grandmother and her aunts Ninna and Dódó - with her clothes, perfumes, and her having a fridge in America. Agga becomes suspicious, suspecting that Freyja is an evil woman or indeed a witch, and should be sent back to America. However, no one believes her. Regardless of her suspicion, Agga told Dísa (played by Bára Lyngdal Magnúsdóttir) about Freyja's return. Dísa was excited about the news, so she ran to where Freyja is staying to meet her. The family of girls then tried on Freyja's clothes from America, and held a mini fashion show inside their house. Agga then decided to report her suspicion to the local policeman Magnús (played by Hilmir Snær Guðnason), telling him that Freyja is heartless and evil, and that she is a liar. Magnús did not take Agga seriously, laughed her accusations off, and sent her out of the police station. With no one on her side, Agga began to follow Freyja, hoping to find out more about her. Freyja was found frequently visiting the rocks near the sea, disappearing behind the rocks and only reappearing many hours later. As Agga found the rocks intimidating, she dared not follow Freyja behind the rocks, and therefore no one knows what Freyja does behind the rocks. Agga realizes that Magnús doesn't take her seriously because she is dressed as a child, after some difficulties with the other women in the house she obtains a trench coat; dressed like an adult she returns to the station where Magnús finally hears her out.

Cast

as Freyja * Ugla Egilsdóttir as Agga *

Heino Ferch Heino Ferch (born 18 August 1963) is a German film, theatre and television actor. His notable film roles include Albert Speer in '' Downfall'' (2004) and Harry Melchior in ''The Tunnel'' (2001). Biography The son of a merchant sea captain, Hei ...

as Björn Theodór * Hilmir Snær Guðnason as Magnús *

Kristbjörg Kjeld Kristbjörg Kjeld (born 18 June 1935) is an Icelandic actress. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 1962. She won the 2010 Edda Award for Best Leading Actress for her performance as the title character in ''Mamma Gógó ''Mamma G ...

as Amma * Edda Björg Eyjólfsdóttir as Dódó * Bára Lyngdal Magnúsdóttir as Dísa * Eyvindur Erlendsson as Afi * Guðlaug Elísabet Ólafsdóttir as Ninna *

Sigurveig Jónsdóttir Sigurveig Jónsdóttir (10 January 1931 – 3 February 2008) was an Icelandic actress. She appeared in more than fifteen films from 1980 to 2001. Selected filmography Death Sigurveig Jónsdóttir died of natural causes on 3 February 2008. R ...

as Kidda * Diijá Mist Einarsdóttir as Emelía * Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir as Birna * Jónína Ólafsdóttir as Læknisfrúin * Charlotte Bøving as Mette * Benedikt Erlingsson as Hilli * Arnar Jónsson as Syslumaður * Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir as Syslumannsfrú * Gunnar Hansson as Unnusti Dódóar * Baldur Trausti Hreinsson as Gummi * Guðmundur Ólafsson as Dr. Enok * Theódór Júlíusson as Þórður Lögga * Sigurður Skúlason as Jói Betu *

Gunnar Helgason Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

as Gauji Sígrenjandi * Halldór Magnússon as Tobbi Spritt *

Kjartan Ragnarsson Kjartan ( Icelandic: ; Faroese: ; Norwegian: ) is a masculine given name found in the Nordic countries, most prominently in Iceland and Norway. The Old Norse name ' was a shortening of ', from , the name of an Irish king whose daughter Melkorka ...

as Prestur * Jón Júlíusson as Póstur * Valgeir Guðjónsson as Hijómsveitarstjóri * Magnús Ragnarsson as Rödd Björns Theodórs * Lísa Pálsdóttir as Konur Í Heimsókn

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seagull's Laughter, The 2001 films 2001 romantic comedy films 2000s Danish-language films Films directed by Ágúst Guðmundsson Icelandic romantic comedy films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links