Kristin Lavransdatter

I did not read Undset's great book trilogy about 14th century Norway. This is Liv Ullmann's second directorial attempt. She was best known for her acting roles in Ingmar Bergman's films. It is a film about medieval spirituality both paganism & Christianity. The production of the film is lavish film with epic type dimensions & cinematography. It is a long move 3 hours. Kristin is the daughter of a prominent landowner in medieval Norway. She grows up in total harmony with the ideals of the time: strong family ties, social pride & devout Christianity. She accepts the fact that her father has arranged for her to marry the son of another landowner. Kristin's beauty & purity create violent emotions around her. There are envy & attempted rape, murder & revenge. She seeks refuge from the world in a convent, waiting the time for her marriage. Here the passion of her life strikes, the knight Erlend Nikulaussonn. He, an accomplished seducer, also falls hopelessly in love. They have to cross not only convent walls to meet, but social boundaries as well. Their love cannot be kept secret, & suddenly the innocent Kristin is the centre of a scandal. Her fiancé withdraws from their engagement, her father rages, & Erlend's former mistress tries to poison her. The affair grows into a political issue, & finally some of the country's most dignified leaders persuade Lavrans to give in. The lovers win each other, but it is in front of a charred altar in a burnt down church, & their happiness has a double edge. The film is a cinematic masterpiece. Ullmann has learned well from her teacher Ingmar Bergman & this is a really magical beautiful 14th century tale. Every scene is a pleasure to behold thanks to SVEN NYKVIST's cinematography. This DVD contained the full 3 hours & contained the 20 minutes omitted from the original film release. Some will say that Ullmann ultimately doesn't succeed in bringing Kristin's passion to life on screen in a convincing fashion. I disagree I loved this film

A beautifully directed, well acted, and consistently faithful adaptation of the first of Sigrid Undset's Nobel Prize-winning novels about her fourteenth-century fictitious heroine, Kristin Lavransdatter. The movie perfectly captures the genius of the novel(s), the external and internal drama of a young woman's struggle with pride and sin, her rebellion against the good and yet her longing for it. Kristin's religious milieu, sympathetically but not sentimentally portrayed in the movie, forms a powerful backdrop against which this drama plays out. My only regret is that they did not make sequels out of the second and third Lavransdatter novels to complete the trilogy, since, indeed, the ending of the movie and of the first novel leave you hungering for more.

I loved this movie! It is so special, and you get the same feeling as if you were reading the book. 'Cause you have to read the book first, if you don't: rent another movie. I think Liv Ullmanns work with the

characters are great, especially the way she gets the love between Kristin and Erlend looking not klichè. I am so sorry for those who did not like this film. It either has to be something wrong with your braincells, or you just not have the gift of estetical sense. I mean: there is no such things as bad acting in this movie. It is so great, come on, come on, see it, see it now! Do it for yourselves, and do it for your heartless souls... :)

In Norway we have to go to the cinema during school, often to see heavy drama movies we wouldn't see at all otherwise. I mean what sane 15 year old would personally go to see a medieval drama directed by Liv Ullmann. Anyway, this movie can easily be summed up by one word: crying..

From scene one the main character Kristin is hit by tragedy and cries. And that continues for a looong time. So rather read the book than watch this movie, but it might be great to see with your girlfriend if you manage to act the correct way.

Even though I did like this movie I do have to sympathize with those people who thought the film a bit long and boring. The shooting style is fairly straight forward, and there really aren't too many memorable dramatic shots, but overall it's technically a respectable film.

I think one of the things that holds back a better film, and I really hate myself for saying this because I usually say the opposite, is that the leads needed younger actors for the parts they were playing, and the narrative needed to be tightened up a bit.

The look of the film is okay, but I think a selection of longer lenses and a more static shooting style might have better sold the artistic period quality of the film. There's a couple of hand held shots that seem somewhat awkward and clumsy, and I didn't get too much romantic tension between the two leads.

Otherwise it's a very fine looking film, but it lacks a certain energy largely because of the kind of story that it is. Medieval romances typically conjure knights wining the hands of fair ladies with deeds brave and bold; read that as killing a few other knights in combat. But there isn't a whole lot of derring do on anybodies part. Oh well.

It's not a film I'd recommend unless you're into the medieval genre. And even then don't expect any sword play, nor much in the way of any plot as it's essentially the reflections of single woman up until her "big moments".

Still, there's a certain charm and a lot of production value in terms of sets, costumes and even locations went into the creation of this film. Again, if you're into the medieval genre, then maybe give it a glance for those qualities alone, but again it is a slower film.

See it once, and see what you think.