Freydís and Gudrid

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

Leiser provides just enough cinematic splendor to make the clumsy execution more glaring.

A common complaint among moviegoers is that there’s nothing original out there: it’s all sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots. Well, “Freydis and Gudrid” is certainly different.

It feels like a reading of ancient tales, with the emotion of the opera replacing the melodrama and acting found in traditional period pieces.