Movie spotlight
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.
In 11th-century Scotland, a silent, one-eyed warrior known as 'One-Eye' is enslaved and forced to fight in brutal duels. After killing his master, he escapes with a group of Norsemen embarking on a quest to the Holy Land. However, their journey takes a dark and hallucinatory turn as they become lost at sea and land on unknown shores, facing an unseen enemy.
Valhalla Rising was met with polarizing reviews, praised by some for its stunning visuals, atmospheric intensity, and Mikkelsen's performance, while criticized by others for its extreme violence, slow pacing, and ambiguous narrative.
Visually striking and thematically ambitious, though often challenging to interpret.
Mads Mikkelsen delivers a powerful, primal performance.
The film's deliberate pacing and extreme violence were divisive among critics.
Google audience: Audience reviews highlight the film's unique atmosphere and striking cinematography, with many appreciating its artistic approach. However, some found the narrative obscure and the violence gratuitous.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn has stated that the film is less a historical epic and more a 'psychedelic Western,' inspired by films like 'The Shinning' and 'Apocalypse Now'.
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67/100 As viewers, we ride along and observe an ex-slave / barbarian, a young boy, and a bunch of crusaders, as they travel from the Northern Highlands of Great Britain to North America sometime around 1100 AD. That's about the entire st...
Rubbish! A true waste of 90 minutes... and of Mads Mikkelsen! It evidently attempts similar as to what we would later see in 2022 with (the excellent) <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-northman/" rel="nofollow">The Northman</...
Twilight of the grim, grey… um… RELEASED IN 2009 and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, "Valhalla Rising” takes place in the 11th century where a one-eyed mute thrall (Mads Mikkelsen) obtains his freedom in the Scottish Highlands and join...
It never manages to rise above its one trick. Nicolas Winding Refn directs and Mads Mikkelsen stars in this ponderous exercise in arty veneers. Refn boldly strips back the dialogue and plot to reveal a picture big on ideas but poor in ex...