The Honour of the House (1999)

A hypocritical and selfish older sister holds power over her younger sister by hiding the shame of her pregnancy.

Director:

Guðný Halldórsdóttir

Writer:

Halldór Laxness (book)

Stars:

Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir, Agneta Ekmanner

6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir	...	Þuríður
Ragnhildur Gísladóttir	...	Rannveig
Agneta Ekmanner	...	Prófastsfrú
Rúrik Haraldsson	...	Prófastur
Egill Ólafsson	...	Björn
Reine Brynolfsson	...	Hans
Bjørn Floberg	...	Viggó
Helgi Björnsson	...	Andrés
Ghita Nørby	...	Fru Kristensen
Margret Erla Maack	...	Eldri dóttir Þuríðar (as Margrét Erla Maack)
Ellen Egilsdóttir	...	Yngri dóttir Þuríðar
Magnús Ólafsson	...	Læknir
Helga Braga Jónsdóttir	...	Ólétt stúlka
Sigurveig Jónsdóttir	...	Eldir þjónustustúlka
Gagga Jonsdottir	...	Yngri þjónustustúlka (as Rannveig Jónsdóttir)

Storyline

A hypocritical and selfish older sister holds power over her younger sister by hiding the shame of her pregnancy.

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Plot Keywords:

based on book | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Agneta Ekmanner & Reine Brynolfsson are Swedish actors and did not speak a word of Icelandic. They learned all of there lines phonetically,

User Reviews

a warm, sad, odd film

In many ways this was quite a good film. Set in Iceland and Denmark, it shows the difficult lives of men and women in the fishing business, but also (as Laxness loved to write about) the dissolute lifestyle of the wealthy. Laxness won the Nobel Prize for Lit in 1955, yet he was hounded out of the US in the late 1920's, appalled by what he saw in New York City/America as the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots." In this film, Laxness portrays the shallowness of the haves' lives; worried more for appearances and images than human love and dignity. It makes me want to read more of Laxness's works. I recommend it, especially for people who like the "Hannah and her sisters" strong-women-surviving-against-impossible-odds theme. And/or those who can abide the portrayal of men as drunks, philanderers, lechers, buffoons, religious hypocrites, idiots, bribers, etc., all of whom are in this film. This latter extreme portrayal pattern was obvious, and thus a real drawback of the film.

Details

Country:

Sweden Iceland

Language:

Icelandic Danish Swedish

Release Date:

8 October 1999 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Das gute Fräulein

Box Office

Budget:

ISK160,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Umbi, Pegasus Pictures, Götafilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color