Valhalla Rising (2009)

Forced for some time to be a fighting slave, a pagan warrior escapes his captors with a boy and joins a group of Crusaders on their quest to the Holy Land.

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Nicolas Winding Refn, Roy Jacobsen

Stars:

Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson, Alexander Morton

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mads Mikkelsen	...	One Eye
Alexander Morton	...	Barde - Pagan
Stewart Porter	...	Kenneth - Pagan
Maarten Stevenson	...	The Boy - Pagan
Matthew Zajac	...	Malkolm - Pagan (as Mathew Zajac)
Gordon Brown	...	Hagen - Christian Viking
Gary McCormack	...	Hauk - Christian Viking
Andrew Flanagan	...	Gudmond - Christian Viking
James Ramsey	...	Gudmund - Christian Viking
Gary Lewis	...	Kare - Christian Viking
Jamie Sives	...	Gorm - Christian Viking
Ewan Stewart	...	Eirik - Christian Viking
Rony Bridges	...	Magnus - Christian Viking
Robert Harrison	...	Roger - Christian Viking
Andy Nicolson	...	Christian Viking

Storyline

1000 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.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | axe | fog | mute | mud | 

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Taglines:

Slave. Warrior.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the title shares its name with a book by Clive Cussler, the influence is more from Kenneth Anger's films Scorpio Rising (1963) and Lucifer Rising (1972).

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Goofs

When the General stabs the Priest in the back, his dagger and sword have changed hands when the shot switches to behind the General.

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Quotes

Eirik: God brought us out of that mist for a reason. We claim this land in His name.
Kare: How do we do that? We're half starved. Three men dead, one missing.

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Crazy Credits

"In the beginning there was only man and nature. Men came bearing crosses and drove the heathen to the fringes of the earth."

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Connections

Featured in NWR (Nicolas Winding Refn) (2012)

User Reviews

A viking-era film for art's sake

Nicolas Winding Refn has enjoyed enormous popularity in his home country Denmark and - I must admit as well - his pushers-bleeders-drivers are at least good, if not great. As for the film in question, he apparently wanted to create something spiritual for a change - and going back to the roots of his nation. The result, however, is an artistic film usually praised by critics and skipped by audiences: long nature scenes, long scenes without talking, stills, narrative chapter composition etc. Or in other words, you can valuate the visions of the director, cameramen and producers, but the story has limited number of twists and hollow ending; it was not annoying thanks to short duration only (less than 1,5 hours).

As for the cast, most of them originated from Scotland (where the film was shot as well), but they were ordinary, uninviting to me. Mads Mikkelsen is great as usual (even though he plays a silent character, One-Eye), the other actor I liked was Maarten Stevenson as The Boy. And women were shown for around 10 seconds for the whole film...

As if Tarkovsky meets Malick for something pretentious... Recommended in the event of forward-function available and/or in the male company.

Details

Country:

Denmark UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2010 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Valhalla Rising

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,905, 18 July 2010

Gross USA:

$30,638

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$282,737

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Belle Allee Productions, La, La Belle Allee

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1