The apocalypse for the heathen, pagan warlords has come with a gradual erosion of their culture and kind, rather than a single cosmic cataclysm of thunder, lightning, battle and bloodshed. The kingdom laying waste to their own is one given unto blood like no other - that of Christ and Christianity. "Driven to the fringes of the earth", they live in dirt, mud and ugly desolation. Meagre wealth only obtained by pitting their captive prize-fighting savage, One-Eye, against all-comers, in brutal matches to the death.
Mute, ravaged, horrifically scarred, supernaturally violent, One-Eye kills all – never beaten, always victorious. The heathen tribesmen think he comes from hell. Maybe he does.
Following One-Eye's escape, during which he kills his captors in some wince-inducing, devastating and viscerally extreme ways, he sets out across the desolate highlands, accompanied by his blonde-haired child keeper (and possible psychic link). Joining up with a band of Christian Viking crusaders on their way to the holy land, the game is on for an existential journey into the heart of darkness, punctuated by ponderous, protracted passages of visually arresting pointlessness, freaky hallucinogenic episodes, random violence and death, blood-red visions and a conclusive musing on the concepts of destiny, fate and sacrifice.
Some of the stark, minimalist narrative is confusing. Also confusing is the fact that most of these Norse living-dead men – for they are technically all dead and in limbo at the end of an age – speak with broad Scottish accents. I am not sure if there ever were any Scottish Vikings, especially in Sutherland ("He's the biggest savage in Sutherland" observes one of the would-be crusaders) so I am equally uncertain as to the historical accuracy and context. The dialogue is curiously modern in places, and it jars a little; but allowing for artistic licence...
That aside, the film is certainly a unique experience. It gets into your head and stays there. Visually and sonically it exerts a resolutely hypnotic authority and engages on a strangely primal level. Mads Mikkelsen is a revelation. Communicating without dialogue, only through minute, fractional variations in body language, facial expression and gesture, he commands absolutely every scene he appears in. One wonders, though, if he isn't getting a little typecast as characters that have ophthalmic problems.
Anyone expecting the usual action-packed thunder in the tundra-type Norse saga representative of most previous Viking flicks, forget it. This is more Apocalypse Now than Pathfinder and the promotional artwork is utterly misleading in this respect. Looking for something a little more unique, atmospheric and challenging within the genre? This is probably it.
Mute, ravaged, horrifically scarred, supernaturally violent, One-Eye kills all – never beaten, always victorious. The heathen tribesmen think he comes from hell. Maybe he does.
Following One-Eye's escape, during which he kills his captors in some wince-inducing, devastating and viscerally extreme ways, he sets out across the desolate highlands, accompanied by his blonde-haired child keeper (and possible psychic link). Joining up with a band of Christian Viking crusaders on their way to the holy land, the game is on for an existential journey into the heart of darkness, punctuated by ponderous, protracted passages of visually arresting pointlessness, freaky hallucinogenic episodes, random violence and death, blood-red visions and a conclusive musing on the concepts of destiny, fate and sacrifice.
Some of the stark, minimalist narrative is confusing. Also confusing is the fact that most of these Norse living-dead men – for they are technically all dead and in limbo at the end of an age – speak with broad Scottish accents. I am not sure if there ever were any Scottish Vikings, especially in Sutherland ("He's the biggest savage in Sutherland" observes one of the would-be crusaders) so I am equally uncertain as to the historical accuracy and context. The dialogue is curiously modern in places, and it jars a little; but allowing for artistic licence...
That aside, the film is certainly a unique experience. It gets into your head and stays there. Visually and sonically it exerts a resolutely hypnotic authority and engages on a strangely primal level. Mads Mikkelsen is a revelation. Communicating without dialogue, only through minute, fractional variations in body language, facial expression and gesture, he commands absolutely every scene he appears in. One wonders, though, if he isn't getting a little typecast as characters that have ophthalmic problems.
Anyone expecting the usual action-packed thunder in the tundra-type Norse saga representative of most previous Viking flicks, forget it. This is more Apocalypse Now than Pathfinder and the promotional artwork is utterly misleading in this respect. Looking for something a little more unique, atmospheric and challenging within the genre? This is probably it.