About this experience
Women who challenge traditional gender roles are a recurring theme in Liv Ullmann’s films. Here, free will and love are set against tradition and loyalty to family and society. Kristin Lavransdatter was Ullmann’s second feature as a director, with cinematography by Sven Nykvist and a cast of well-known actors. It was Norway’s most expensive film production at the time, and despite mixed reviews, it became the most-watched Norwegian film of the 1990s. The film is based on The Wreath, the first volume of Sigrid Undset’s trilogy. It is set in 14th-century Gudbrandsdalen, in a society ruled by tradition and the Catholic faith. Kristin grows up safely at Jørundgård and is betrothed to Simon Darre. After a traumatic attack in the forest, she asks to spend a year at the Nonneseter convent in Oslo before the wedding. There, she meets another man—and her life takes a new turn.
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