Movie Review: Valhalla Rising

For my first cinetv post I thought it would be appropriate to review Valhalla Rising (the film from which I derived my handle "One-Eye").

Valhalla Rising is a 2009 film directed and written by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen stars as "One-Eye". The film was shot entirely in Scottland.

Like some of Winding Refn's other works, Valhalla Rising is shot in what many would consider to be an "experimental" fashion. For example, much of the story is told through the use of imagery and action sequences. Throughout the entire film, the main character One-Eye never mutters a single word. Long cuts and varied camera angles offer a unique cinematographic experience. This uncommon style of film making has variously endeared and repulsed viewers, resulting in reviews that range from terrible to outstanding. Viewers familiar with Winding Refn's 2013 film, Only God Forgives (starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas and Vithaya Pansringarm) will notice similarities in the cinematography between these two films.

The plot of the movie is based around the journey of One-Eye, a mysterious mute who has visions of the future. We first meet One-Eye while he is enslaved by a band of Norwegian warriors. Forced to fight other slaves in bouts of gladiatorial combat, One-Eye displays astounding martial abilities. In short order, he manages to overcome his captors, killing the chief of the Norwegians and winning his freedom. After securing the head of the slain Norwegian chief on a spike, One-Eye departs on his own, before noticing that he has been followed by a small boy(who was also a slave of the eviscerated Norwegians). Soon after, One-Eye and the boy stumble upon a band of Christian crusaders. The leading crusader is a zealot who announces his intention to sail across the sea and found a, "New Jerusalem". With few other options, One-Eye and the boy join the crusaders on their sea voyage. The voyage goes poorly, and the crew suffers mightily from lack of food and water, before drifting into an area of fresh water in the, "new world". Unfortunately for them, things go downhill fast, as the native inhabitants are not particularly interested in hosting the crusaders or their, "New Jerusalem". One-Eye foresees his own doom at the hands of these natives shortly before the natives eliminate the crusaders, and then One-Eye himself. The film ends with a shot of the boy standing alone, as the last survivor of the ill-fated voyage, on the shores of this distant land.

While this movie will be too violent for some, and too cryptic for others, it is an extremely well-made film with spectacular cinematography that most serious film fans will enjoy. Although the reviews for the film were generally positive when it was released, it was not a success at the box office, earning back only a fraction of what it cost to produce. Valhalla Rising is an little-known, entertaining and under-appreciated film that is definitely worth checking out.