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The Seagull's Laughter

Play trailer Poster for The Seagull's Laughter Released Feb 13, 2004 1h 42m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In 1950s Iceland, a sassy widow named Freyja (Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir) arrives home from America with a newer, slimmer look and a mental list of grievances. Not one to stay single long, Freyja moves in with her aunt, uncle and shrewd young cousin, Agga (Ugla Egilsdóttir), and quickly begins looking for a new husband. She manages to charm a number of local bachelors, including Björn (Heino Ferch), but when men start turning up dead, Agga suspects Freyja of murder.
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The Seagull's Laughter

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Critics Consensus

Though uneven in spots, this delightful comedy will, nevertheless, put a smile on your face.

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Critics Reviews

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Janice Page Boston Globe Lively and beautiful filmmaking. Rated: 3/4 Aug 13, 2004 Full Review Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle Seagull often is on the verge of melodrama, but in the best sense of the genre, where real life is exaggerated but never to the point of being unrecognizable. Rated: 3/4 Jul 9, 2004 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times An uncommonly engaging comedy with ripe tragic undertones. Rated: 3.5/4 May 7, 2004 Full Review Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com The film captures the quaintness of provincial life with humor and drama, deftly mixing in feminism, too, in a way that is subtly funny and even a little disturbing. Rated: B Nov 27, 2004 Full Review Sean P. Means Salt Lake Tribune [The movie] boasts an engaging assortment of female characters and an arch sense of humor as biting as the Icelandic winds. Rated: 3/4 Oct 15, 2004 Full Review Jeff Vice Deseret News (Salt Lake City) The performances are solid, and the film is just different enough to please open-minded audiences. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 15, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member this is the 1st time as far as i could recall to have watched a film from Iceland, complete w/its gorgeous setting. this film's kinda mixed in its treatment as parts are outright hilarious, nostalgic, serious, tragic, and meditative. if it was made longer than what i saw, it would have turned out to be boring. but then story was well crafted and awesome in its narrative---i think it's the very strength of this movie. i understand now a very good way of presenting the topic of "how to commit murder/s and getting away with it" on film----go see how it was done in this movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member I really enjoyed this movie. I love the woman in this movie. So many characters. Its full of comedy and culture. I liked it so much. Beautifully made. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member great film with a great ending Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member A fantastic dark comedy from Iceland. Beautiful Freyja, recently widowed, returns from America to compete with the local ladies for the attention and affection of the island's most eligible bachelors. She'll stop at nothing to obtain what she wants: arson, battering delinquent little boys, flinging live cats at her mother-in-law, maybe even murder(?). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member I enjoyed this movie, a charming comedy with a dark twist. Most of all, I enjoyed the complexity of women's friendship, solidarity and the intensity of their characters. It portrays Iceland women with a lot of animus and anima. The austere landscape, the atmosphere of a fishing village, and the attention to details along with swing music in the background create a distinctive sense of time and place. I highly recommed it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member (*** 1/2): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Darkly funny and well-acted. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Ágúst Gudmundsson

Director

Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir

Freyja

Ugla Egilsdóttir

Agga

Heino Ferch

Björn Theódór

Hilmir Snær Guðnason

Magnús

Kristbjörg Kjeld

Amma

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The Seagull's Laughter

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1950s Iceland, a sassy widow named Freyja (Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir) arrives home from America with a newer, slimmer look and a mental list of grievances. Not one to stay single long, Freyja moves in with her aunt, uncle and shrewd young cousin, Agga (Ugla Egilsdóttir), and quickly begins looking for a new husband. She manages to charm a number of local bachelors, including Björn (Heino Ferch), but when men start turning up dead, Agga suspects Freyja of murder.
Director
Ágúst Gudmundsson
Producer
Kristín Atladóttir
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Icelandic
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 13, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR
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