My name is Mara Lorbeer, and I recently learned that I have to save the world.
Mara and the Firebringer (Mara und der Feuerbringer) is a German movie adapted from the Norse Mythology Urban Fantasy book of the same name, written and directed by the original writer of the novels, Tommy Krappweiss.
Mara Lorbeer (Lilian Prent) is a fifteen-year-old girl who lives with her single Wiccan mother Christa Lorbeer (Esther Schweins) in Munich, Germany. Because of her mother's excentricism, she is relentlessly bullied by the school's Alpha Bitch Larissa (Leonie Tepe) and has no friends. Ever since she was twelve, she's been blacking out and having strange dreams about Vikings attacking her, but everyone dismisses these as daydreams. One day a twig speaks to her, telling her "daydreams" are in fact visions of the future. She is a spákona, a seeress from the Norse myths, and she has to prevent the trickster god Loki (Christoph Maria Herbst) from breaking free from his imprisonment under the Earth or else Ragnarök starts. She finds out that Loki is breaking free out of desperation and rage because his wife, Sigyn (Eva Habermann), has been kidnapped by "The Firebringer", who lusted after her. She meets with the Professor of Norse Mythology from the local university, Reinhold Weissinger (Jan Josef Liefers) and manages to gain his trust after showing him some of her vision. They decide to work together combining his knowledge of the myths with her abilities as a spákona to save Sigyn and prevent Ragnarök.
Not to be confused with The Fire Bringer Trilogy
This film provides examples of the following:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Dr. Thurisaz, who hits on Christa despite her obvious disinterest. He does convince her to go on one of his seminars, but only so that she can spend more time with her daughter.
- Action Girl: Sigyn is implied to have been this. Loki states that she bound all her magic to her bowl to help him and without it she is completly defenseless.Turns out that Sigyn was one of the mightiest mage goddesses and that is why Loge kidnapps her; so he can have Sigyn's magic to help him and to ensure she won't use her magic against him, since she is capable of extinguishing him.
- Alpha Bitch: Larissa, although she's more physical than most examples of this trope.
- Always Save the Girl: Lampshaded: after Loge kills Fafner, Sigurd steps forward and says that he will gladly risk his life for the women (Mara and Sigyn). Reinhold translates what he says and notes that he himself was left out.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Christa Lorbeer. She's a devout Wiccan who isn't ashamed of her beliefs and practices, but Mara is.
- Ambiguously Evil: While Loki is guilty of murdering Odin's favorite son Baldur, he is shown to have a good-hearted side. He genuinely loves his wife and wants nothing more than to see her happy with him. What threatens to start Ragnarök isn't Loki wanting to exact revenge of the gods, but his desperation to find Sigyn after she's kidnapped, as he swears to slay and lay waste to everyone and everything that stands between him and rescuing her. He does say that Mara is right not to trust him, because even he doesn't trust himself.
- Anachronism Stew: In-universe: Loki has his hair in what looks like a Suebian knot, which was a hairstyle sported by the Suebi and as Reinhold points out, Loki predates them so to portray him in one isn't historically accurate.Turns out in the end it wasn't the case, Sigyn had just tied his hair together to keep it from hanging in the limewater.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Loge holds Sigyn as hostage until she agress to be his. By marrying her, he will have her magic on his side, which is powerful enough to lay waste to the world.
- Animate Inanimate Object: The twig sent to Mara to deliver the message was brought to life and given the ability to speak to her so he could tell her she is a Spákona.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Loge. He wants to out do Loki and bring about Ragnarok himself with Sigyn.
- Cain and Abel: Loki is the Cain to basically every other god's Abel.
- Chick Magnet: Sigurd, the legendary bane of Fafner. Mara is smitten when she sees him and becomes ever more distracted when he takes his shirt off. When all his clothes are burned off after facing Loge, even the unshakably loyal Sigyn can't help but stare.
- Combat Pragmatist: When battling the much bigger and stronger Thor, Loki tosses ashes in his eyes to distract him, hangs from the ceiling by his hands and kicks him in the face and even tries to trick him into smashing the pillars holding the roof up so it will collapse on him. In the end however, Thor defeats him.
- Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: After Siegfried is struck by Loge his remaining clothes are burned off, leaving him naked. Reinhold instantly covers Mara's eyes.
- Damsel in Distress: Sigyn after she is kidnapped by Loge.
- Determinator: Sigyn. She refuses to take back her bowl even though it is where she placed all her magic because if it's isn't with Loki, he will be left with no protection under the snake. When Mara tells Loki Sigyn insisted the bowl be with him, he admits that his wife is indeed stubborn.Loki: [whilst smiling fondly] Like twenty mules and a goat.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Mara ogles Sigurd when he removes his shirt. Sigyn does this to when he loses his pants.
- Evil Uncle: Loki is this for Baldur and Thor. Or rather; morally gray, since we don't know his motivations for his past crimes.
- Eye Color Change: When Loki grows angry his eyes turn from green and blue to pitch black, as shown when he swears to lay waste to everything and everyone who stands in his way to rescue Sigyn. When Mara offers to save her, his eyes change back to their natural colors.
- After Mara is gifted some of Loki's powers, her eyes become black when she's angry too.
- Fate Worse than Death: Loki's punishment. He is bound by the entrails of his murdered son beneath a snake that spits acidic venom in his eyes.
- Fiery Red Head: Both Thor and Loki, as shown during their battle.
- Green-Eyed Monster: It's said that Loki killed Baldur out of jealousy. But the text that claimed so also said that they were half-brothers rather than uncle and nephew, so it's not clear if that was his true intentions.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Sigyn has long golden hair and is not only a loving wife, but a kind person to the people she comes across.
- Happily Married: Loki and Sigyn. They lived a happy wedded life together before his punishment and are still going strong despite their unfortunate situation.
- Howl of Sorrow: When Mara first meets Loki in person, he begs her to help him and screams Sigyn's name in anguish.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Loge kidnapping Sigyn, tearing her away from her beloved husband while they try to hold on tp each other.Loge: Come! Come with me! Be mine!Sigyn: Loki!Loki: [breaks free from one of his bonds to reach for her] Sigyn!
- Instantly Proven Wrong: On their way home from a "tree talking seminar" Mara takes a twig out of her mother's hair and says "plants can't talk" only to hear "I wouldn't say that" from it.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Mara and Reinhold, born from her abilities and his fascination with the Nordic myths.
- Left the Background Music On: The ominous chanting that starts when Logi appears can be heard by the characters as well, which they remark is incredibly strange. This becomes relevant to defeating the giant later on.
- Mind-Control Eyes: The humans that Loki possesses to reach out to Mara all have black eyes.
- Mama Bear: Sigyn shows traces of this, being protective and caring towards Mara.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Jörmungandr, or the Midgard serpent is revealed to be this. He's terrifying, yes, and he is destined to one day slay his cousin, but he is very docile when he meets Mara and even helps her spook a bully at her request.
- Oh, Crap!: Mara when she faces Logi a second time.
- Please Spare Him, My Liege!: Sigyn tries to pull this on Loge to get him to spare the lives of Mara and Reinhold, promising to be his bride if he lets them live. Fortunately, she doesn't need to as Mara had already figured out how to beat Loge.
- Precious Photo: Or rather precious tattoo. Loki got a tattoo in the image of his son Jörmungandr after the latter was banished to live in the oceans of Midgard.
- Rage Breaking Point: Sigyn's abduction is this for Loki, which is why Mara has to find her before Loki breaks out of his bonds and goes on a fiery Roaring Rampage of Rescue to get her back himself.
- Saved by Canon: Sigurd surviving being stomped by Loge is a given for anyone who knows his story, because he's going to be killed later in life after betraying his lover Brynnhild.
- Shout-Out: When Mara starts to fear that having supernatural abilities is bringing out the worst in her, she considers getting a black helmet, asthmatic breathing, and a red light saber or a wand, silly name, and no nose.
- Undying Loyalty: Sigyn has this for Loki. However unlike most adaptations, she's not doing it out of a sense of duty or the like but because she and Loki truly love and care for eachother and are happy together. Loki has this for Sigyn as well, stating that he would gladly bear the venom for all eternity if it meant she'd be safe.
- Sadly Mythtaken: In-universe exapmle. A concept of Loki as Odin's son has wormed its way into modern media despite him being Odin's brother. Even Reinhold calls Loki Thor's brother. But in the scene where two gods fight, Thor refers to Loki as his uncle.Thor: You will repent, Uncle!Loki: Never!
- Scars Are Forever: Well, self-inflicted ones at least. When the venom drops on Loki's face his eyes heal after Sigyn holds her bowl over his face again. However he is shown to have a scar on his forearm, which was most likely given to him when he took an oath with Odin.
- Squee: Reinhold has moments like this when he witnesses things from the myths.
- First after returning from witnessing the battle between Loki and Thor, he becomes awestruck seeing the gods, the legendary hammer, Loki's hideout, and Loki shapeshifting into a salmon.
- When he and Mara come across the legendary lindworm Fafner, they see that the monster is amphibian, which delights Reinhold. Since he has read about Fafner's affinity for water, he didn't buy that it was a typical fire-breathing dragon.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Mara manages to figure out that Loge is a "pseudogod" who is only powered by the chanting that can be heard when he appears. So in order to stop him she get him enraged, which causes his flame to run out since he's using it to intimidate them. In the end he uses so much of his flame to threaten Mara that he shrinks to the size of her shoe, at which point she steps on him.
- Too Dumb to Live: When Fafnir and Sigurd get dragged to the present with Mara and start to fight, a child runs towards them with a wooden sword. Fortunately Reinhold picks the boy up and hands him to his father before he can get too close
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Sigurd, who from the moment he's introduced removes his shirt and progressively only gets more naked.
- Was Too Hard on Her: Mara uses her newly found powers to scare Larissa into shock. However when she sees how much she's broken her, she regrets it and fears that her powers will corrupt her.
- You Watch Too Much X: Reinhold doesn't believe that Mara has actual visions of Loki but is making one up from what she believes due to pop cultural influence, such as Loki's hairstyle being from an era that he predates.
