Director: Jeffrey Leiser
Writer: Jeffrey Leiser
Stars: Micaëla Oeste, Kirsten Chambers, Bray Wilkins
Synopsis: A group of merchants and vikings navigate dramatic events both within and without in this epic musical based on the Icelandic Vinland sagas. As secrets are exposed, two women have a reckoning.
My relationship with opera, like many Egyptians, started with Aïda, Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic masterpiece set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, which premiered in my homeland in December 1871. This hasn’t necessarily made me an opera expert, but despite the language barrier, this seductive, complicated art form has stayed with me as a companion and turned me into a different kind of person who appreciates musicals and musical theater.
Film, on the other hand, is a creative medium that can be stretched to its extremities to create a difference—something similar to operatic cinema. Beautiful Icelandic landscapes intertwine with theatrical singing, actors lining up and facing the camera. It all feels like fourth wall-breaking but alienating from an average film viewing experience.
In his Norse operatic film adaptation, Freydís and Gudrid, director Jeffrey Leiser defies the macho Viking lore, by giving the voice and the presence to his two female protagonists; Freydís mourns the death of her brother and takes on a journey with the pregnant Gudrid and her husband Karlsefni to retrieve the brother’s corpse and bring it back to Greenland and avenge his death. On the voyage, Freydís and Gudrid have a reckoning. Their relationship starts antagonistic, with rivalry over past wounds. But the shared hardships and the burden of war weigh down on both of them, so they find a moment of peace after years of unnecessary grudges.
Sam Kreuger’s cinematography works well within constraints and budgetary limitations. Despite most of the scenes taking place in front of a green screen, he manages to perfectly capture the essence of ancient Icelandic folklore through a careful black-and-white backdrop of the events.
A film like this commands a niche audience. Freydís and Gudrid is not the average movie-watching experience, for it defies what comprises a traditional musical film setting, with hits and misses throughout, making it difficult to fully connect with it. It demands attention and a profound love for opera, albeit too much for its own good. The curiosity for the Vikings’ lore is interwoven with Lesier’s talent in composing and orchestrating the film’s songs and music. His passion for writing music and big-scale musicals shows in the careful crafting of the film as a long opera from start to finish. Not once does he slip or lose command of his tools.
One of the most interesting elements of this film is how different Freydís and Gudrid are from one another. The two titular film characters are played beautifully by professional opera singers (Micaëla Oeste) and (Kirsten Chambers), respectively. Leiser showcases the differences between their characters, while Freydís is bloodthirsty and hell-bent on revenge, always seeking the next fight, Gudrid is motherly, nurturing, and kind.
This feature may not be what many would call “their cup of tea,” but in a world where modern audiences are tired of seeking the mundane, one remake, sequel, and prequel after the other; originality must be praised and admired for choosing the courageous act of showing a brand new cinematic language. It may have benefited from a bigger budget and been more fitting for the big screen, but it serves its purpose, which is not to distract from the characters singing the story.
Admittedly, this film may have worked as an opera on stage with more satisfaction, but Leiser’s decision to bring it to a wider audience to watch it on the big screen is the perfect way of demystifying art. It’s not the History Channel series, nor Robert Eggers’ epic, The Northman. It has nothing to do with how Marvel explores the Norse lore, but it works for the uniqueness factor, the dazzling songs, and two great female singing performances. Freydís and Gudrid is an exploration of the soul, an enchanting parting of the traditional into the unknown.
