''The Seagull's Laughter'' () is a 2001 Icelandic film directed by

Ágúst Guðmundsson Ágúst Guðmundsson (born 29 June 1947) is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter. He studied French, Icelandic in Reykjavík and filmmaking at the National Film School in London. He has made many popular Icelandic films that have also bee ...

. 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 Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir (born January 21, 1949 in Hafnarfjörður) is an Icelandic writer. Background She received her degree in 1991 from the University of Iceland in the fields of German and Icelandic. Writing Her first novel '' ...

, 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 Hilmir Snær Guðnason (born 24 January 1969, in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic actor. He is famous in his native country and has appeared in both film and on stage. In 2000 he was named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Pro ...

), 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 *

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 Guðlaug is a feminine given name of Old Norse origin meaning “good wife.” Women * Guðlaug Edda Hannesdóttir (born 1994), Icelandic Olympic triathlete * Guðlaug Torsteinsdóttir Guðlaug Torsteinsdóttir (born 2 March 1961) is an Iceland ...

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 Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir (born 12 October 1968) is an Icelandic actress and musician. In the 1990s, she was also a saxophonist and vocalist of the group Reptile. Biography Halldóra graduated from the Iceland University of the Arts in 1995. ...

as Birna * Jónína Ólafsdóttir as Læknisfrúin *

Charlotte Bøving Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city *Charlotte (cake), ...

as Mette *

Benedikt Erlingsson Benedikt Erlingsson (born 31 May 1969) is an Icelandic actor and theater and film director. He graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 1994 and has been with the National Theater of Iceland for most of his career. He has directed two ...

as Hilli * Arnar Jónsson as Syslumaður *

Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th ce ...

as Syslumannsfrú *

Gunnar Hansson 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 Unnusti Dódóar *

Baldur Trausti Hreinsson Baldr (Old Norse also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, he is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was known in ...

as Gummi *

Guðmundur Ólafsson Guðmundur (), sometimes rendered as Gudmundur, is an Icelandic male first name, sometimes shortened to Gummi or Gvendur. The Icelandic surname Guðmundsson is a patronymic surname meaning ''son of Guðmundur''. Guðmundsdóttir is a patronymic s ...

as Dr. Enok *

Theódór Júlíusson Theódór Júlíusson (born 21 August 1949) is an Icelandic actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 1994. Theódór won the 2012 Edda Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance as Hannes in ''Volcano A volcano is common ...

as Þórður Lögga *

Sigurður Skúlason Sigurður () or Sigurdur may refer to: *Sigurður Bragason (born 1954), Icelandic baritone *Sigurður Breiðfjörð (1798–1846), Icelandic poet *Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945), Prime Minister of Iceland from 1914 to 1915 and from 1922 to 1924 *Si ...

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 Halldór () or Halldor is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Halldór Ásgrímsson (born 1947), Icelandic politician, formerly Prime Minister of Iceland from 2004 to 2006 *Halldór Orri Björnsson (born 1987), Icelandic internati ...

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 Jón is an Old Norse common name still widely used in Iceland and the Faroes. According to Icelandic custom, people named Jón are generally referred to by first and middle names and those without a middle name are referred to with both first nam ...

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