Valhalla Rising
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
- adventure
- drama
- action
- fantasy
The story
Scandinavia, 1,000 AD. For years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together he and Are escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel, but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the new world reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self.
What it’s like
Long, static compositions and slow tracking shots move through fog, mud and bare rock, shot in a grainy, desaturated palette of greys, bruised greens and dried-blood browns, with the cold light of overcast skies doing most of the work. Frames are often wide and nearly empty, so a single figure in a misty valley feels small against the landscape. The score is a sparse, droning mix of low synth pulses and ambient drones, and long stretches are almost silent, broken only by wind, water and the crunch of boots. The mood is bleak, hypnotic and dreamlike, a slow descent into dread that reads as myth more than adventure. Pacing is deliberate to the point of meditative, and the emotional register stays cold and hushed, following a silent, enormously strong warrior and a frightened boy as their journey turns into something spiritual and unsettling. Violence is infrequent but brutal when it comes: sudden, bloody and stylised, with graphic gore and stark, sometimes harrowing scenes of cruelty and captivity. This is not gentle viewing. It suits people who want austere, atmospheric art cinema with a strong sense of place, and who don't mind extended silence, unexplained imagery and visceral bloodshed.
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