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 | chained to a post | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Denmark UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2010 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Buđenje Valhale

Filming Locations:

Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,905, 18 July 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,546, 25 July 2010

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mads Mikkelsen was always first choice for the part of One-Eye as he is an old friend of director Nicolas Winding Refn.

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Goofs

The closing credit for "Technical Support" has a typo error "Techincal".

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Quotes

Viking chief: He's never belonged to anyone for more than 5 years, your time has passed, mine has come.

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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

Referenced in Hagan Reviews: Exorcist: The Beginning (2012)

User Reviews

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Well, I'm not sure how to put this.

This isn't the movie you would expect. This is a raw and gritty movie, a festival for your eyes, a rare piece of art that dispenses with dialogue, plot and laws of logic for the sake of great cinematography/photography, gripping ambiance and mythology. VALHALLA RISING rendered me speechless. I can't even tell you if it's good - I just want to tell you that it's worth watching. Every minute of it. It is an experience.

We do not learn much of our (anti-)hero: a warrior-slave, Mads Mikkelsen, is freed from captivity and bands with a group of crusaders who intend on heading to the Holy Land, yet end up, well, in their own little hell.

There isn't much more to say to the plot, for it hardly matters - mythology matters here, the grand sceneries matter, and the underlying message matters. It aims at showing us how superfluous the Christian God seems in a world of violence; life as a farce in the face of intangible evil. Will you desert your (Christian) God when the time has come? Here lies its main agenda: in a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. He is indeed, he ties us to the elemental powers, and rises above.

A piece of art. Take your time, be patient, and you will enjoy it like no movie before.