When the Raven Flies

Infobox Film
name = Hrafninn Flýgur


caption =
director = Hrafn Gunnlaugsson
producer = Bo Jonsson
writer = Hrafn Gunnlaugsson
narrator =
starring = Jakob Þór Einarsson
Edda Björgvinsdóttir
Helgi Skúlason
Egill Ólafsson
Flosi Ólafsson
Gotti Sigurdarson
music = Harry Manfredini
Hans-Erik Philip
cinematography = Tony Forsberg
editing = Hrafn Gunnlaugsson
distributor =
released = 4 February, 1984
runtime = 109 min.
country = Iceland Sweden
language = Icelandic
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by = Í skugga hrafnsins
website =
amg_id = 1:118741
imdb_id = 0087432

"When the Raven Flies" (orig: Hrafninn flýgur (Audio|Hrafninn flygur.ogg|pronunciation)) is the title of a 1984 film by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, set in medieval Iceland.

Plot summary

In the opening scene on Ireland, a young boy loses his parents in a Viking raid, but is spared in spite of the command of Thord, the Vikings' leader, to kill him. His sister is kidnapped by the Vikings. Twenty years later, the boy has become a man and travels to Iceland to seek revenge against the perpetrators and find his sister. His name is never revealed, and he is only known as "Gestur" by the characters in the film since he is a stranger to them.

Gestur coldly plays two of the Viking raiders' (now living in exile from Norway) gangs against each other to get his revenge. He stays out of sight, only revealing himself through his killings and to Erik, Thord's rival. He slays several of Thord's men and then frames Erik's gang for it. Thord is led to believe that Erik is plotting against him and is lying about the Gestur character. Thord's younger brother encourages this - it's later revealed that he is the one plotting to overthrow Thord and take his position. Thord is eventually driven to attack Erik and his men, killing them all.

Gestur discovers that Thord is married to the now adult sister and have a young son.Gestur reveals himself to his long lost sister, but she is still a Christian like their father raised them and does not help Gestur's plans to assassinate Thord.

Thord is a devout Norse paganist. Gestur secretly manipulates Thord's altar, leading Thord to believe that the gods demand his son as a sacrifice. In her desperation, Gestur's sister reveals her brother was the one who manipulated the altar and leads Thor and his gang to capture Gestur. He refuses to reveal who he is, even under brutal torture. The guilt-stricken sister frees him in secret, and the badly wounded Gestur escapes to Erik's grave.

Thord still goes ahead and arranges the sacrificial ceremony of his son, but believes that it will be enough for the gods if his son shows true Viking bravery and takes his "death" like a man, with the blade stopping only inches from this throat. Thord's treacherous younger brother is tasked with wielding the blade, but in the middle of the ceremony, Gestur suddenly reveals himself. Thord's brother swings the blade to kill Thord's son, but the child is pushed away the last second. The brother's plan to kill Thord's heir and supplant him is revealed. Gestur uses his disguise to get close to Thord and his brother, revealing his true identity and killing them both.

Gestur buries his weapons and asks his sister and her son to come with him back to Ireland. He claims that he will now abandon violence and live a Christian life. His sister refuses and says that her son is "old enough to have seen too much", using the same words that Thord used twenty years ago when he ordered the killing of Gestur. In the final scene of the film, Thord's son looks after Gestur in anger and digs up Gestur's buried weapons, presumably to avenge his father and continue the cycle of violence.

Production details

Cast list

*Jakob Þór Einarsson as Gestur
*Edda Björgvinsdóttir as Gestur's Sister
*Egill Ólafsson as Thor's Brother
*Flosi Ólafsson as Erik
*Gotti Sigurdarson (as Gottskálk D. Sigurdarson)
*Helgi Skúlason as Thor
*Sveinn M. Eiðsson as Guard
*Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir

Reception

Awards

*Hrafn Gunnlaugsson won the 1985 Guldbagge Award for Best Direction
*Hrafn Gunnlaugsson was nominated for the 1986 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film

References

External links

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