In 1000, a Norse-warrior named One-Eye and a boy travel with a band of Christian Crusaders in pursuit of a Crusade. Instead, they find themselves in an unknown and unfamiliar land.
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Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writer[s]: Nocilas Winding Refn, Roy Jacobsen, Matthew Read [additional writing]
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen
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Valhalla Rising is one of the simplest movies on paper that I have seen recently. Simply enough, Mads Mikkelson is our “protagonist”, a mute Norse warrior on a journey. That’s it. The film takes place in six parts:
- Part I – Wrath
- Part II – Silent Warrior
- Part III – Men of God
- Part IV – The Holy Land
- Part V – Hell
- Part VI – The Sacrifice
Each part is about 15 minutes, and the movie is only 90 minutes long. The lead role has no lines, and IMDb tells me that there are only 120 lines of dialogue and has to be the spark for Refn’s next two films Drive and Only God Forgives, also camera driven productions [as opposed to dialogue driven]. Clearly there is much, much more to the movie than “a guy on a journey”, but it is undoubtedly a creative, artistic production that requires a lot of patience and self-generated interest to sit down and watch all 90 minutes.
Bob's Movie Reviews 