When the Raven Flies (1984)

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The thing that shines most out of this film is the plot. The avenging son doesn't just come and kill people, he uses cunning to make them trust him and distrust each other, he separates them and then kills them when he has the upper hand.The problem, though, is the amateurish directing and acting, something that I know well enough from my own country's productions. The fact that the language is Icelandic (and the horses, too, that's funny) doesn't help much, nor does the clearly minute budget.In a way, I agree with many of the people that reviewed this positively: this felt like a real life Viking saga, with normal folk being dressed in animal fur and fighting with bow and knife in a dreary land. However, too much realism is bad as well, and I imagine the film would be liked only by a minority of viewers because of it. In fact, it feels like old Spaghetti westerns at times, with the bad sound and silly music added after the filming.Now, I can imagine this done by Hollywood. They would definitely remove what was good with the script, because their heroes must always be moral and trustworthy, either white or black. The role of the woman would be relegated to something helpless, begging for assistance, rather than the courageous stance the Icelandic character takes. The fights would be epic, touching steampunk, with weird contraptions that mass murder tens of people (but without blood). When I compare this projection to the actual film, the Icelandic version wins, however I can't help think of what this could have been with just a little more resources at their disposal.

Hrafninn flygur and its follow on movies Í skugga hrafnsins and Den vite vikingen are, up to now the best Viking films produced. Also "Vägvisaren" is in this same style, but more a reflection of the lapps in the north.Along Scandinavian cineastic traditions, the brutality is real, hard and authentic;There is ice, snow, fire, metal and leather and a good story about poetic justice.Scandinavian historical films, despite a rich history, literature and film tradition are sadly a too neglected theme. We still await the most epic film ever: Röde orm. Please make a film on this book!

'Hrafninn flýgur' had no problem getting status and good reviews in Sweden, here where we don't have any good action-flicks at all. Perhaps this is better than most of the action-movies made here, but it is not realistic at all.'Hrafninn flýgur' is mostly a combination of 'Conan the Barbarian', 'Yojimbo' and 'C'era una volta il west' (but mostly a silly remake of 'Yojimbo').The worst part in 'Hrafninn flýgur' is the unoriginal and poor music, which at times reminds about 'Yojimbo', but it is not as good.The direction didn't impress me at all either, it tried to create a rough mood, with weak result.Rating: 5 of 10.

Being Icelandic I'm of course proud of most films made in Iceland, and they do get better every year. The only thing I sometimes criticise is that we, Icelanders, try to be TOO clever. We don't allow ourselves to just make pure action or pure comedy, but it seems we have to try to add some artistic flair to all our films. Hrafninn flygur is a viking-action film, which keeps your interest from beginning to end. The costumes and surroundings are beautiful, and the story is a good old revenge-your-parents tale, but with enough twists and side stories to keep ones interest fully. I have many friends around the globe, and Hrafninn flygur is one of the few films that I would recommend to anyone for pure entertainment value. Sadly, this film is not available any more, so we will just have to hope that one of these days they will re-release it.