| Útlaginn | |
|---|---|
Video case |
|
| Directed by | Ágúst Guðmundsson |
| Produced by | Jón Hermannsson |
| Written by | Ágúst Guðmundsson |
| Music by | Askell Másson |
| Cinematography | Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson |
| Editing by | William River |
| Release date(s) | 31 October 1981 |
| Running time | 100 min |
| Country | Iceland |
| Language | Icelandic |
Útlaginn (Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli) is an Icelandic movie filmed in 1981, detailing a blood feud that took place in Viking times. It is based upon one of the Icelanders' Sagas called the Gísla saga.
The film was released on 17 February 1984 to critical acclaim in Sweden, and then in West Germany. Written and directed by Ágúst Guðmundsson, the theatrical version of the Saga of Gisli Sursson is said to be an extremely culturally accurate representation of the peoples of the time period.
Contents |
This Icelandic Saga begins with Gisli, Thorgrim, Thorkel, and Vestein making a blood pact to protect one another. Controversy breaks out when one of the men, Thorgrim, refuses to complete the pact because he does not want any involvement with Vestein. Thorgrim claims that taking on Vestein as a brother is taking on more trouble than he can handle. The scene ends with the men storming off from one another and the blood oath incomplete. The plot begins to unfold when Thorkel hears his wife tell Aud, Gisli’s wife, that she had amorous feelings for Vestein before she married Thorkel, leading Thorkel to suspect his wife was unfaithful.
As the saga continues, Vestein is killed one night in Gisli's home by a masked man. Gisli rushes into the house and pulls the spear from Vestein’s dead body thereby ensuring that he will avenge Vestein's murder. Gisli, with some investigation of his own, concludes that Thorgrim is responsible for the death of Vestein. Therefore, he convinces one of Thorgrim’s servants to leave the door to Thorgrim’s house open one night. Gisli enters the house and stabs Thorgrim with the same spear that Thorgrim supposedly used to kill Vestein. A group of Thorgrim’s servants race to Gisli’s home to inquire if anyone strange has come by but they receive no luck. After the funeral Bork, Thorgrim's brother, marries Thorgrim’s widow, Thordis, who is also Gisli’s sister. Thordis then tells her new husband that she believes Gisli is responsible for the death of her first husband. In addition, she tells Bork that he must kill Gisli in order to get revenge for the murder of his brother and she will marry him. As a result, some of Bork’s men travel to a sorcerer to convince him to place a curse on the Thorgrim's murderer.
The sorcerer interferes with Gisli’s dreams so that he has nightmares. Gisli, throughout the saga, is confronted with dreams of an evil woman and a good woman. These women play a crucial role in his daily life and the dreams seem to reveal the intentions of the women. These women are his sister, Thordis, and his wife, Aud. Gisli then flees his home, just before Bork and his men arrive and harass his wife and daughter. Cursed by the sorcerer, Gisli runs from the gang of men that is after him and is almost captured on numerous occasions. One example of his great escapes is when one of Bork’s men come to an island and discovers that Gisli is there hiding with a poor farmer and his wife. When Gisli finds out that his enemies know where he stays he decides to act like the halfwit, who occasionally sits on the lawn, in order to escape from his pursuers. On this same occurrence he escapes another time by lying under a woman’s mattress while the gang of men search the house.
Another great escape is when Gisli decides to hide in a cave near his home and is one day discovered by one of the men. As this is happening, Vestein’s two sons dress up as girls and kill Thorkel, Gisli’s brother, who they believe was partially responsible for the death of their father. They run to Gisli’s wife, Vestein’s sister, for help but she refuses and tells the children to run away before Gisli returns. Eyjolf, one of Bork’s henchmen, along with the rest of the gang, finds Gisli. Gisli, tired of fleeing from the men, fights to his death, killing many of Bork’s henchmen. Surprisingly, Thordis feels guilty for encouraging Bork to kill her brother after she learns Gisli is dead. As a result of her guilt, when Eyjolf visits Bork, Thordis attempts to stab him with a knife to avenge her brother’s death. In the saga's conclusion, Thordis divorces Bork in front of Eyjolf and the other house guests.
| Character | Actor | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Gisli | Arnar Jónsson | Protagonist who is forced into seeking vengeance after the death of his brother-in law, Vestein. |
| Aud | Ragnheiður Steindórsdóttir | Gisli’s wife. Vestein's sister. Stays loyal to her husband even when faced with her own death. |
| Thorgrim | Benedikt Sigurðarson | Brother-in-law to Gisli and suspected murderer of Vestein. Refused to make the oath with Vestein because he felt it would cause him more trouble and stress. |
| Thorkel | Þráinn Karlsson | Brother of Gisli whose wife’s interest in Vestein is believed to indirectly lead to his death . |
| Asgerd | Kristin Kristjansdottir | Wife of Thorkel who has a crush on Vestein. |
| Vestein | Kristján Jóhann Jónsson | Brother-in-law to Gisli who is murdered in his sleep. |
| Eyjolf | Helgi Skúlason | Leader of the group of men who hunt Gisli. |
| Thordis | Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir | Wife to Thorgrim and sister to Gisli. Urges Bork to avenge the death of his brother Thorgrim by killing Gisli. |
| Bork | Bjarni Steingrímsson | Brother to Thorgrim who marries Thordis shortly after his brother’s death. Is talked into seeking vengeance for his brother’s death by Thordis. |
| Helgi | Sveinbjorn Matthiasson | One of Eyjolf's Men. |
Throughout the film, blood and its various meanings hold a recurring significance. The image is first introduced when Gisli, Thorgrim, Thorkel and Vestein join together in a traditional sworn oath of brotherhood. Together, they cut their forearms, signifying their loyalty to one another. Yet, toward the conclusion of the oath, Thorgrim refuses to make a pact with Vestein and the oath is not completed. The men dislike Vestein due to his affair with Thorkel's wife. As the film continues, the image of blood begins to represent the images of deceit and betrayal. Paradoxically, the very men who attempt to take an oath together end up killing one another. Therefore, blood represents a foreshadowing symbol throughout the saga. Ultimately, the image of blood throughout the film is one of allegiance and deception.
Family is the central factor for all of the murders that take place over the course of the story and exhibits the degree that people will sacrifice for relatives. The bond of marriage looks to be the most important family tie for the characters in the story based on the actions of Aud and Thordis. Aud puts her life in danger and passes on a significant sum of money in order to keep her husband, Gisli, from being discovered. Thordis, on the other hand, convinces her second husband, Thorgrim’s brother Bork, to seek vengeance on her brother Gisli for killing Thorgrim. The murders, however, took place due to deaths in the extended family. Gisli killed Thorgrim in order to get vengeance on the man he believed killed his brother-in-law Vestein while Bork, through Eyjolf and his men, kills Gisli over the death of his brother, Thorgrim. At the end of the film, Thordis begins to feel remorse for her encouragement of her brother's murder. She displays her remorse by attempting to stab Gisli's murderer, Eyjolf as well as divorcing his accomplice, her husband Bork.
From the commencement of the film fate is a recurring theme. As the movie begins, the men, who were at first going to seal their fate as friends—brothers—turn their backs on one another and thus initiating a sudden change in each man’s fate. Fate is often thought of as one’s destiny. It is believed in this movie that every man has a fate, a destiny that cannot be escaped; whatever is supposed to happen will happen. This is first apparent when Vestein comes into Gisli’s community despite numerous warnings. Time and again, Vestein is told to keep his guard up and to be wary; nevertheless, he continues on his journey into what would soon be his death. Vestein is unable flee from his fate as he is murdered in the middle of the night. During this scene, another destiny is sealed when Gisli pulls the spear out of Vestein’s body, thus proclaiming that he is now inclined to avenge Vestein’s death. From then on, Gisli is forced to live as a fugitive. One could argue this was a result of his poor decision but the Norse culture believes that it is the affirmation of his fate.
In this Norse society, honor is seen as an important commodity and should always remain dignified. The movie begins with a pact being formed between Gisli, Thorgrim, Thorkel, and Vestein, vowing to live up to each other’s honor, while promising vengeance for whoever in the party should be injured or die. The pact is disbanded, because Thorgrim refuses to avenge Vestein, should Vestein die. As each man dies in the Norse society, each is honored with their death being avenged. Gisli feels he must uphold Vestein’s honor after his murder (and in turn, his own), by killing Vestein’s assassin. However, this act is viewed as a dishonor to Gisli by many men, as no one was certain of Vestein’s murderer before Gisli acted upon the murder of Thorgrim. Aud supports her husband, as she tells him that the horse should be ‘well fed.’ She believes that Gisli was being honorable, and therefore flees with him.
The theme of loyalty, or lack thereof, is also present within the film. The lack of loyalty is seen between Gisli, Vestein, Thorkel, and Thorgrim. These very men vowed an allegiance to one another in the opening scene of the movie; however, they ended up killing each other. Furthermore, the lack of loyalty can be seen through the character Thordis, Gisli’s sister. Family loyalty was important to the individuals in the movie; nevertheless, when Gisli killed Thorgrim, Thordis’ husband, she turned her back on her brother and hired men to track him down and kill him. On the other hand, Aud, Gisli’s wife, shows the ultimate amount of loyalty to her husband. When the men looking for Gisli came to their home, Aud refused to reveal the location of her husband, which almost cost her her life. Aud also proves her loyalty when she fights side by side with her husband until is inevitable death. Gisli also showed loyalty to Vestein by avenging his murder.
The spear complicates the meaning of the blood, because the spear is the tool primarily used by the men to spill blood. The text states that “a damascened spear so long shafted that a man could stretch out his arm and touch the rivets” is the tool they used to spill the initial drops of blood. Later, the same spear was used in the murder of Vestein and again in the murder of Thorgrim [1]. It is a tool, in that it is used to kill all of the men who made this blood pact, but is also a representation of themselves. The blood is on their hands. This idea of the “spear”, this long, wooden shaft with a deadly tip, is these men. Their bodies are as strong as the base of the oak tree, and minds as sharp as the tip of the spear, but they, like the tip and shaft of the spear, are drenched in blood. Additionally, the spear has been seen as an archetype to represent power, more specifically, the power one man wields over another. This is seen in Norse mythology with the spear of Odin called Gungnir.
Útlaginn demonstrates vengenance within Norse families because the saga portrays families and their fate, to avenge the deaths of a slain relatives with honor. Vengeance is apparent in the plot throughout the movie. One primary example is when Gisli kills Throgrim in vengeance for Vestein’s death. Another example, which depicts this is when Bork and Eyjolf’s attempts to collect vengeance for Thorgrim’s, Bork’s brother, death. In the saga Bork is driven to seek vengeance by Thordis, Thorgrim’s wife, akin to Gisli’s vengeance for Vestein, his brother-in-law. This pattern of vengeance for in-laws again shows the importance of married family in Norse culture. The film also shows that vengeance for blood relatives is important to Norse people when Thordis attempts to kill Eyjolf for his role in the death of her brother, an act she herself instigated. The lives of those preoccupied with vengeance, Gisli, Bork, Eyjolf, and Thordis, rapidly deteriorate, conveying the message that, ultimately, vengeance is not worth dwelling upon.
This movie follows the story of Gisli, his family, and his adventures as an outlaw included in the thirteenth century Icelandic saga entitled “Gísla saga” (“Gisli Sursson’s Saga”). The events take place from 940-980, but the saga itself was written around 1270-1320. Two written versions of the saga exist, one of which is translated by Martin S. Regal. However, there are slight deviations throughout the film. The role of Gisli’s dreams seems unimportant throughout the course of the film until the final battle between Gisli and his hunters, but in the saga his dreams played a bigger role in predicting his fate. Also, the saga did not give faces to the women portrayed in Gisli’s dreams. The film, however, depicts the good dream woman as Gisli’s wife and the bad dream woman as his sister. This may have been done in the film to ensure that the audience realized the critical roles that the women played in the course of events in the story.[1]
In the text, the character of Gisli was depicted as a larger than life character who “died with so many and such great wounds that it was an amazement to all" [1]. This assessment of Gisli’s death leads the reader to believe that Gisli was in fact a humongous man with an irrefutable spirit. In the movie however, Gisli was depicted as a man of normal stature with the will to over come the obstacles placed before him and to fight through the challenges he had. This was a positive alteration to the movie because it made the character more realistic and believable.
Overall, this saga, much like many others focuses on history and feud within families, along with the conflicts that arose between Icelandic settlers during those times. The majority of sagas of Icelanders took place in the 9th and 10th centuries and they were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. Icelandic Sagas are known for their family themes which are particularly present in this saga. The characters within these sagas are typically Vikings or closely related to the Vikings. Speaking in verse is also characteristic of Icelandic Sagas, which the main character in Gisli Sursson’s Saga does several times throughout the text. Unlike many other stories that were circulated about nobles or kings, these stories depicted the lives of the ordinary person. Not only are the characters generally ordinary folk but they are also portrayed as possessing super strength.