O Riso da Gaivota

A family member from an Icelandic village is returning home after living with her husband in America. She says that her husband died of a heart attack, "while I was cleaning the fridge." "You had a fridge?" says another. Yep, a comedy.

Everybody is happy to see her and among them is a young cousin , Egga, a mischievous 12-year-old girl, who seems to regard this new family member with special fascination. On the one hand the new arrival "just seems" evil but on the other, a person she cannot help admiring. This older cousin is still young and coquettish, masterfully flirtatious, and endowed with charms galore. She meets someone but runs into trouble. Egga tries to save the situation by intercepting their letters and rewriting them (she is the courier).

Egga exhibits another proclivity, spinning yarns and relating them to the village policeman (who reacts with bemused tolerance) implicating others (especially her cousin) in wrong doings, of which, however, there is almost certainly a measure of truth, exactly how much is unknown. There is a comic flair to all of this and some of it rather dark. These two cousins comprise the dominant thread of the story but other family members get their moments and there is a great deal of charm to it all. The events have a certain rollicking bluster. The ending is priceless. I can't believe how well this is all put together. I had to watch it twice.

The Seagull's Laughter is a wonderful film about the post-war times in Iceland. An American officer's widow comes back home and upsets a whole community, stealing the eyes of all the men, and disappearing into rocks, as the Icelandic elves do. Seen through the eyes of a young girl, it arouses a rainbow of emotions in the audience, and has them singing on their way out.

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.

This is a wonderful movie, set in the 1950's, about a beautiful woman who returns to Iceland after living in America. She reminds me a little of Scarlet O'Hara. She is a strong woman who takes no prisoners. The slinky dresses she brings back from the United States make quite a contrast with the dowdy woolen clothes that her relatives wear. Her beauty, glamor and willfulness wreak havoc on the population. The childlike delight which which she deploys her charms is wonderful to behold.

The movie is not in any way dull or dreary. It moves pretty quickly, has a droll sense of humor, and a knowingness about human nature.

If you are sensitive; there is one brief scene where something bad happens to an animal. The event is bad, but mostly takes place out of view. There are some sex scenes which are not extremely graphic, but do show female nudity.

I'd recommend this movie. As foreign or independent movies go, this is one of the better ones. Compared to the one or two other Icelandic movies that I have seen, this is the best by a wide margin.

THE SEAGULL'S LAUGHTER does one thing that international films rarely achieve: It transfers humor from one culture to another without exaggeration or silliness. The ironic nature of its black humor permeates each scene, resulting in a truly delightful film. The Left Elbow Index consider seven aspects of film--acting, plot, character, dialogue, production sets, artistry and film continuity--on a scale of 10 for excellent, 5 for average, and 1 for weak. First off, there are no weak areas in this film. The acting is very good by all the characters, with Ugla Egilsdottir's a notch above the others. It is difficult to believe those who claim this is her first major acting job. She's great in this role. The plot is also very good, and the adherence to plot structure is superior to most other films. The characters are average, mostly comic stereotypes in the British manner. The dialogue is average, with a total absence of trite interjections that find their way into some many Hollywood and Ballywood movies. No one has to make cute inane comments in this one. The production set are excellent, both indoors and outdoors, especially those which contrast the crowded living condition with the vast expanses of Iceland. The artistry is normal in the areas of costumes and music. The film continuity is very good in regard to tone and suspense. Just what will Agga do next? The Left Elbow Index average is 7.85, when equated to the IMDb scale it is a 9.0. Alas, this is a totally enjoyable movie, and I recommend it for some fun entertainment.