THE SEAGULL’S LAUGHTER (2004) (***)
16 03 2005![]() |
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This dramedy from Iceland was made in 2001 and had a small release in the U.S. in 2004. The film is somewhat of a coming of age tale set in 1978, following teenager Agga (Ugla Egilsdottir, film debut).
Her cousin Freyja (Margret Vilhjalmsdottir) (really the daughter of her grandmother’s friend) moves back to Iceland from America. Her husband has died and Agga suspects Freyja is the Devil incarnate. What Freyja is is a sensation in the small town with her sexpot attitude and new fashionable clothes. We quickly discover that her motivations are to spite everyone in town who use to make fun of her for her appearance as a child. She attempts this by trying to seduce the town’s most eligible bachelor Bjorn Theodor (Heino Ferch, DOWNFALL).
One of the jokes in the movie is that Agga’s house is filled with women. Agga’s Grandma (Kristbjorg Kjeld) rules the home due to the fact that Granddad (Eyvindur Erlendsson) is always away at sea and seems to prefer it that way. Also living in the house is Grandma’s daughters Dodo (Edda Bjorg Evjolfsdottir), who’s a little slow, and Ninna (Guolaug Olafsdottir), who desperately wants to find a husband, as well as Grandma’s pipe smoking sister-in-law Kidda (Sigurlaug Jonsdottir). Agga has a dry wit, and both admires and hates Freyja. She often tries to get Freyja arrested by telling the police that she has murdered someone.
The humor of the film is droll and often dark. Some of the funniest moments are when Freyja plans her devious revenges on the people who do her wrong. The film chronicles the difficulties of finding love in a small remote town and shows how Agga comes to deal and learn about this notion. It’s smart and engaging and will have you laughing out loud.






