VALHALLA RISING (2009)

(Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn)

"This is what I want out of an arty film!"- Signed by MartialHorror.

 

Plot: A one-eyed warrior joins a band of Christian Vikings who intend to enter the crusades, but instead they find themselves in a mysterious land where they are under attack by a mysterious enemy.

Review:

“Valhalla Rising” can be argued as avant garde art, the perfect exercise in atmosphere. Or it can be argued as pretentiously boring. Then again, that seems to be what Nicolas Winding Refn wants to be remembered as. A filmmaker who produces art or boredom, and there is nothing conclusive as to what side stands out more. While everyone lauded “Drive”, I was relatively indifferent too it. It was a character understudy that focused primarily on people staring at each other dramatically. It was cute at first, but by the end of the movie I was practically yelling at the characters to say something. But that's part of the subjectivity of 'art'. Many found fascinating what I found boring. “Valhalla Rising” is the same way, except this time it was I who found the film fascinating. Whereas “Drive” was universally loved, “Valhalla Rising” tends to split audiences right down the middle. Personally, “Valhalla Rising” is the type of art film that I prefer, even if it is a very flawed movie because of its own dedication to 'art'.

Mads Mikkelsen plays a warrior called One Eye, because he has one eye. He doesn't speak and is currently a slave whose job is to fight other slaves. He never loses, but apparently doesn't like being a slave, because he eventually breaks away and kills his Master. He spares a boy (Maarten Stevenson), who follows him around. They wander the countryside until they come across a group of Christian Vikings who plan on joining the crusades. One Eye initially ignores them until they state that if he joins, his soul will be cleansed of all past sins. He joins them but it turns out that getting to the Holy Land is harder than anyone thought. They become trapped in a mist and when it clears, they find themselves on a mysterious land. Were the hell are they? And who is picking them off one by one?

 

“Valhalla Rising” might sound like an action film on paper, but it's not. It also might look like a horror film in execution, but it's not that either. It is a slow moving, claustrophobic thriller about paranoia, madness and 'hell'. However, I do love that the film is shot as if it is a horror film. Much like Kurosawa's “Throne of Blood” and the Coen Brothers “Blood Simple”, “Valhalla Rising” opts to creep you the fuck out. The film has a haunting atmosphere about it thanks to the blood soaked imagery and the startling sound design. Refn wanted a 'hellish' atmosphere and he got it. Mist covers so much of the movie, but it's used masterfully. In some scenes, mist covers everything except the path they walk upon, and sometimes it invades that too. The excellent framing provides some gorgeous photography, but there's no sense of release from the tension. Something about it is cold and dangerous. The lighting is disorienting and psychedelic, with even the director referring to the film as an acid trip. I wouldn't call the film scary, but it is very haunting and unsettling.

In terms of concept, the film reminded me of “Aguirre, The Wrath of God”, which also was about a group of warriors who are picked off by an unseen enemy while traveling through foreign lands. Both films deal with the characters being driven mad by the unseen enemy and their own lack of nourishment. Both films are both epic yet claustrophobic, and both are slow paced yet mesmerizing. One thing, however, that I REALLY liked about this film was its ambiguity. Are these guys actually in hell? The film dealt with that effectively, and One Eye made for an excellent guide through it. Mads Mikkelsen is always awesome, but this is easily his most frightening performance. He's the freaking protagonist and he's still freaking menacing. When someone states that he came from hell, you believe It, and the ambiguity of the character makes him that much more mysterious.

The only downside of the movie is that it is rather...pretentious? Self important? I don't really know how to describe it, but the film does occasionally wallow in itself. Much like how the characters get lost within their own madness while being lost on a mysterious island, the director gets lost in his own self indulgence. The characters are intentionally vague, having no real names, but because we know nothing about them we never fully understand why they're acting the way they are. Sometimes it just feels like they're doing it because the movie wants them to do it. This is one thing “Aguirre” does much better, as you grow to know the people, making their insanity more effective. Here, it's all done through some incomprehensible montage that just came across as lazy. With that said, if only more movies became lost in their pretentiousness like this one. “Sucker Punch”, for example, was an irritating mess. “Valhalla Rising”, even when it loses itself, never wears down its visual appeal which kept things interesting for me. Much like Leone's “Once Upon a Time in The West”, every shot tells its own intriguing story. I'm also glad that despite the self indulgence, the film isn't that long. This is the type of movie that you'd expect to be 2 or 3 hours, but it's a measly 90 minutes. At least Refn knows to an extent what not to do. "Valhalla Rising" could've easily overstayed its welcome.

I said earlier that “Valhalla Rising” is what I want out of an avant garde art film, while “Drive” wasn't. To me, “Drive” was a relatively normal character understudy. It was surprisingly clinical in its style, being more about characters expressions. For me, art films should go all out like this. Dazzle us with themes, wild imagery, crazy lighting and oppressive atmosphere! It will keep me interested, even when the film drags on or becomes slow. “Valhalla Rising” fit that bill perfectly, ultimately becoming a flawed masterpiece. It isn't an action film, but it has some excellent action sequences. It isn't a horror film, but it looks and sounds like one. It's just a really strange, unique movie. But it might bore you too depending on your own tastes.

Violence: It's very hardcore when it happens.

Nudity: Bits and pieces, and a dude appears to rape another dude at one point (strange...). It's not sexy nudity, that's for sure.

Overall: “Valhalla Rising” is what I want in an art film. As such, I loved it. Liking it depends whether or not you like these types of movies.

 

3.5/4 Stars