VALHALLA RISING (2009)

Cast

Plot

One-Eye is a mute slave of great physical strength who breaks free of his captors and, with his child colleague Are, sets off on a journey that takes him across the sea through a near endless fog to a strange new land that is not the Promised Land they seek. There are shades of Herzog here, hints of Malick, maybe even Tarkovsky, the landscapes are terrific, the photography awesome and the score engaging. 'Valhalla Rising' has been variously hailed as 'unbearably self-important', 'a masterpiece', 'mesmerising', 'hypnotic'... It's certainly one for the art house crowd, who should be intrigued, as opposed to those mistakenly anticipating a gore-fest or actioner who will inevitably be disappointed.