Sóley

The story of Sóley is about freedom and oppression. Set in Iceland in the dark eighteenth-century, it relates the adventures of a young farmer whose horses - symbols of his independence - are missing. In his search for the horses and his freedom, he journeys across the uninhabited wastelands of the mountainous interior of the country. Here he encounters the legendary figures of folk tradition. The elf-maiden, Sóley, accompanies him on his way across the highlands. She is the incarnation of the dreams woven by the farmers of Iceland, poverty stricken and oppressed - dreams of a better and more humane way of life, envisaged as the lot of supernatural beings, concealed in the harsh, dramatic landscape of Iceland.

Directed by Róska, Manrico Pavolettoni, Sóley leans on a strong ensemble — Rúnar Guðbrandsson, Tine Hagedorn, Pétur Hraunfjörð — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about fantasy titles of 1982.