Watch The Seagull's Laughter For Free

That was an excellent one.

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

In the early 1950's, following the death of her American serviceman husband, the tempting and stunning Freya returns to her native Icelandic fishing village, with nothing but old scores to settle. With several trunks of fashionable clothing and astounding tales of life in postwar New York, she turns the town upside down with her glamorous presence. Determined on finding another husband, she moves into the already cramped household of her grandma, insecure young Dodo, mentally challenged Ninna, her grandfather (when he isn't out on a fishing boat), and an intelligent and curious11 year-old Agga. Agga is suspicious to say the least, and sometimes downright nosey, of Freya from the moment she arrives but eventually her distrust gives way to fascination. When Freya has a passionate encounter with a man named Bjorn, an engineer and one of the town's most eligible bachelors, Agga helps iron out the kinks in the escalating romance. The drama that unfolds becomes the talk of the town, which eventually leads to all the women of Freya's extended family into unexpected dark territory. The stunning Icelandic setting gives "The Seagull's Laughter" a distinctly exotic sense of time and place that sets the mood for it's many themes and juicy plot. "The Seagull's Laughter", directed by Agust Guomundsson, delves into multiple themes throughout the film, along with twists that keep you on the edge of your seat and a few sex scenes that combine to without a doubt keeps the viewers attention. In my opinion, the many themes presented in "The Seagull's Laughter" are of great importance to every day life. Of these themes, the most important to note is the importance of family. Family is everywhere throughout the film, and the dynamics of this family in particular is what I believe is a main contributor to why I liked this film so much. Freya can be described as dark, mysterious, and one who thinks very highly of herself and she makes it known that her needs come before everyone else in the house. For example, when Freya first arrives at the house, she simply assumed that she would sleep in one of the rooms, and definitely not a couch or pull out bed. After a brief conversation, the grandmother decides to let Freya share young Agga's room. To say the least, Agga was not happy about this decision, which she made known to the rest of the house. Undoubtedly, Freya is head and shoulders above the rest of the women in the small, Icelandic fishing village when it comes to beauty. Beauty is portrayed in this film in a variety of ways. Freya has a very elaborate and high-class style of fashion that allows her to stand out and become an attraction of sorts to the men of the village. One example that sticks out in my mind is when Freya is working at the pharmacy and drunk men continually come in for one reason beyond buying additional alcohol: to see and speak to the goddess that is Freya. Freya knows that these men are nothing short of drooling over her, and she absolutely, one hundred percent eats it up. Additionally, it is my belief that the she dresses up deliberately to attract attention from men. This speaks to her strong desire to find a husband, more specifically a rich one. For example, one of the first times Freya goes out in public, she wears a stunning dress in a bold shade of red. She seeks out a man, Bjorn, which appears to be of wealth and goes on to make flirtatious conversation with him. After a brief conversation, Bjorn and Freya go on a walk that eventually leads to them making love in the middle of broad daylight. The next day, Freya is eager to share her detailed and inappropriate story of lust and romance with her roommate and cousin, Agga. This shows how egotistical Freya is and her lack of judgment when it comes to censoring stories to young children. Another interesting part about the film is the setting of the village and the film techniques used throughout the film. The weather seems to be dark and gloomy, which in my opinion is a symbol of the dark and mysterious character, Freya. Throughout the film, I was constantly awaiting Freya's next bold move. One example in particular is when a woman comes into the house ecstatic with anger and sadness regarding her husband's recent infidelity. Freya listens to her story, exclaiming that no man has the right to do that, and that there should be consequences for her actions. Sure enough, Freya sneaks out one night and sets fire to the mans house while he was sleeping, showing no remorse or guilt for her actions and goes on with her daily routine of pushing people around and constant stares from men all over town. An interesting technique that stands out in this film is that when Freya is on camera, her entire body is on screen, capturing her full beauty and presence. Although this movie portrays a beautiful woman that gets away with literally anything, I still truly enjoyed the film. Rather than hating the film for the very same reason, I believe that anyone who watches this film, particularly men, will learn a valuable lesson when it comes to relationships with women. More specifically, to look past the body of a woman and see their true colors. I truly believe that any adventurous film-goer will enjoy this edge of your seat, dark, and twisted film.

Actually, the above comment is VERY misleading, as this is perhaps the 3rd movie I have seen from Iceland. In fact, because we get so few Icelandic movies her in the US, I made it a point to give it a try, as I wanted something different.Overall, I liked this movie, as the acting was good and the plot took lots of little twists and turns. This movie is an excellent example of a film that is difficult to predict and has characters who are quirky but not one-dimensional cutouts.Freya is a worldly woman who is returning home to Iceland after the death of her husband. She moves in her extended family and from then on, the movie is seen, at times, from the eyes of her little cousin who resents having to share her home and bedroom with Freya. It's obvious early on that Freya isn't going to just blend in--as she arrived with 7 trunks clothes--all in the latest fashions. While she turns the heads of many men, the rich guy who initially shows her the most attention goes from hot to cold. It seems she is from a working class family and he is rich (at least by Icelandic standards), so it appears that he drops her cold. Later, though, it seems that despite his family pressures to ignore her, he returns and marries her. Life with this rich guy at first seems great, though difficult due to his bitchy mother. Then, the relationship begins to sour and Freya moves back with her family. The weak husband begins drinking (and whoring) and begs and then threatens the pregnant Freya to return. The final time he approaches her he is particularly violent and the scene is literally MISSING. I like that touch because you aren't sure exactly what happened. What happens next is just something you'll have to find out on your own, as it would definitely spoil the movie to talk further about the plot.Apart from the script and acting, the movie has very catchy mid-50's American music and a few VERY explicit sex scenes that make this movie a bad choice for the kids.PS--this movie reminds me of the Oscar-winning ANTONIA. Both are strong feminist films, but Mávahlátur doesn't seem nearly as preachy and is a better film.

I can't really pigeon-hole this film. It's a kind of Icelandic Witches of Eastwick soap opera laden with Icelandic lore and served up with a wonderful cast of Icelanders, none of whose names I recognize or have seen before, that takes you down a winding, rocky, barren, stark, coastal path to a place where you wonder what's going on. Having gotten there, you know no more than when you started out but you've had one helluva time getting there. The two principals, Freyja (Margret Vilhjalmsdottir) and Agga, (Ulga Egilsdottir)generate a chemistry of love and intrigue between an older, mysterious woman and the younger, naive but precocious prepubescent girl, mixed with admiration and loathing. This is a delightful glimpse into the stark, cold world of Iceland, their subtle class system and some marvelous faces. Margret Vilhjamsdottir's has the same stark, sharp beauty of Aussie Nicole Kidman with eyes that can light fires and Ulga Egilsdottir's face is a delight to watch. All in all, this is a real romp of a film and I do love the non-ending.

"The Seagull's Laughter" is set in a small Icelandic village in the 1950s. Years ago, a young woman named Freya left the village for America with her soldier husband. When she returns, stating that her husband died, she causes quite a disruptance. Part diva, part feminist, Freya's self-confidence starts to rub off on the other women, who start to dress flashy and assert their independence. The story is told through the eyes of Agga, Freya's 11 year old cousin who simultaneously despises and is fascinated by Freya. When men in the village start turning up dead, Agga is convinced Freya is the murderer. After all, she thinks she has seen her prancing around the seaside rocks, like an elf! There are some acts of violence in the film that seem out of place (e.g, Freya chucking a cat at her mother-in-law!) and sometimes the characterization gets a bit questionable. But, overall, "The Seagull's Laughter" is a well-made film filled with devilishly dark humor and rich with Icelandic lore.My Rating: 7.5/10.