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Viking Outlaw (3.5 stars) 1987. 94 Minutes.

The Viking Outlaw  is a film adaptation of the thirteenth century Old Icelandic Gisli's Saga. It was filmed on location in Iceland in 1987 by writer/director Agust Gudmundsson and stars Amar Jonsson as Gisli. The story is one of jealousy, murder, and revenge, and despite its ancient origins, modern audiences find these themes both accessible and exciting. Many viewers are used to the sacrifices that must be made in order to adapt literature into film, but some may be surprised that Gudmundsson cut a great deal of the saga, which is only sixty pages long in modern translation. However, such cuts are inevitable, given the density of the saga genre.

In the beginning of the movie, two brothers, Gisli and his older brother Thorkell prepare to swear a blood oath to each other and to their brothers-in-law, Thorgrim (husband to Gisli and Thorkell's sister, Thordis) and Vestein (brother of Gisli's wife, Aud). As was the custom, this ceremony is to take place before witnesses. However, Thorgrim pulls out of the ceremony at the very last moment; he claims that Vestein is nothing to him and he will not ally himself with a stranger to whom he is unrelated. Those who have read the saga understand that not only does Thorgrim not want to make such a commitment to a stranger, but that Thorgrim is a chieftain, and swearing the oath would lend this stranger political power. Unfortunately, Gisli is not so understanding. Gisli is embarrassed before his kinsmen and the gathered crowd. Vestein is more than just a brother-in-law to Gisli; he is a friend and Gisli takes Thorgrim's refusal as a personal insult on those grounds. Moreover, Gisli has a poor track record with his sister's male friends in the saga. Before the action of the movie, Gisli has killed all of Thordis' suitors.

Soon after the failed blood oath ceremony, Thorkell overhears his wife, Asgerd, speaking in loving terms about Vestein. She obviously harbors great affection for Gisli's friend. Although Thorkell and Asgerd come to a slightly uncomfortable resolution of their marital problem, Vestein finds no such quarter. One night during a violent storm, the men of Gisli's house are outside performing damage control. Gisli will not allow his guest, Vestein to help, however, on matter of principle. But while the others are away, Vestein is killed while he lies in bed. Everyone suspects that someone from the neighboring farm, where Thorgrim and Thorkell live, committed the murder. And when Thorgrim offers to pay for Vestein's funeral expenses, Gisli is sure he is the one who committed the murder. Months later, Gisli finds an opportunity to take his revenge. He kills Thorgrim, his sister's husband, in his bed and gets away without being discovered.

Gisli's widowed sister suspects Gisli of the murder. In the film, some circumstantial evidence leads her to this conclusion. Gudmundsson, unfortunately, did not find a way to adapt one of the most interesting moments in the saga--the moment when Gisli, muttering to himself, utters a confession to the crime, but does so in a difficult to interpret poetic form known as skaldic verse. In the saga, Thordis unravels the meaning of the verse, which is like a difficult puzzle, and she announces her brother's guilt. In the film, Gisli's guilt is assumed for other reasons which his sister reveals. In either case, Gisli's career as one of Iceland's most famous outlaws begins due to his sister's revelation.

Gisli is hunted by day throughout the west fjords of Iceland. By night, he is plagued by nightmares. He can find rest nowhere. Through the images of his outlawry, viewers witness Gisli's brilliance and ingenuity. He stays alive a long time by evading and sometimes slaying his pursuers. But all chases have an end, and so does Gisli's. The final battle scenes are exciting and realistic; in medieval Iceland, when a man is out of reach of sword and ax, he is still at large. To see pursuers and pursued so close to each other, and yet out of reach, causes some exciting tension in modern viewers who are used to seeing someone produce a fire-arm and kill at a distance. Gudmundsson wisely leaves bow and arrow technology in the background to capitalize off of this tension.

The Viking Outlaw  can be a difficult movie to watch if one has not read the saga. Many of the actors look similar, and most of them are named Thor-something. Moreover, it can be difficult to remember who is related to whom and what that relation is. For example, some audience members "oooh and ahhh" when Gisli's guest slides into bed with Gisli's wife on that stormy night; but once they remember that the friend is his wife's brother, the suspense is gone. Some Freudian critics will argue that another relationship to "oooh and ahhh" about begins at that moment, but that's another story. Audiences are also treated to beautiful images of Iceland's rugged, volcanic landscape, sod covered houses that are historical reconstructions, the small, furry ponies that were the primary modes of travel in thirteenth century Iceland, among other historically correct details. Audiences of this film are encouraged to read Gisli's Saga before viewing the film, but if that's not possible, see the film anyway. And, if you like what you see, treat yourself to a read of one of the best representatives of the saga genre.

J.D. Thayer