Valhalla Rising

Apparently, this film’s budget didn’t allow for its biggest star to even speak. Valhalla Rising looks hellishly cheap to the point of appearing amateurish in places. It is extremely slow and pensive, and monstrously atmospheric. Given that almost nothing happens in it and that it’s not long, it’s unbelievable how it manages to hold the viewer’s attention and curiosity as to what will happen next. (04.12.2011)

On the one hand, brutal and raw, on the other, eye candy that calls for a big screen :-( and last but not least, one of those films where they don’t speak much and the viewers have to figure things out themselves – or lovers of film transcendence, behold! We don’t get many films like this every year, which is good in its own way because we can at least enjoy these gems with the pleasant feeling of having come across something untraditional and unique. That said, the action/adventure label should be taken with a large pinch of salt. (18.05.2010)

A hypnotic visual gem where everything is so subordinated to the rigid metaphor of nature / stone human faces (mythical Mikkelsen!) / monotonous speeches, that any meaningful narrative structure and causality completely disappear from the film. Nicolas Winding Refn leads a pagan ritual with everything that it encompasses. There is no need to understand the spoken formula, because it has no logic in the modern sense of the word – it is simply an enchanting sequence of metaphors and precise compositions, long scenes without plot, and it is not worthwhile to look for a link between them. They are there due to the need for poetry. Sometimes, it is stronger than the need for a story. It’s too bad that people talk in the film – it's like the self-serving name "Valhalla Rising". The problem is that words completely unnecessarily introduce the need to give the scenes a more purposeful order. And it is simply not there. Honestly, that’s fine with me. (31.05.2010)

This is a gourmet delight. The almost tangible silence occasionally interspersed by the metallic guitar riffs combined with wonderful images got right under my skin. A tacit Mads Mikkelsen wading through the mud of two worlds without the slightest indication of emotion (ok, sometimes we see a smile, when he speeds up somebody’s journey to the other shore) with the little boy reminds me in places of Annaud’s picture The Bear. A slowly unfolding future with dream sequences, mindless Christians, heads on stakes. A dream come true for Viking fans. I once met man who told me they eat their own God. Eat his flesh. Drink his blood. Abominable. (17.07.2010)

Regarding all the comparisons to Terrence Malick films, I wasn't entirely sure about them and took them with a big grain of salt. It lasted me about the first minute of the film. After that, I never doubted them again. Valhalla Rising is as brutal (I closed my eyes) as it is peaceful and somehow meditative. In the character of One-Eye, the film shows us in impressive images, underlined by minimalist music, what the road to hell looks like and what can await you there. However, I do not and will not give a fifth star because: It bothered me that English was spoken in the film. And the overt brutality could either have been less, or (in the case of the rock--->head scene especially) it should have stayed with just hints. That would have been enough. (16.08.2011)