This movie might frustrate you, probably will, so it's better to get into it without expectations. I suppose that the trailer, that clearly highlights the action scenes of the movie, makes it easy to expect something that this thing ultimately does not deliver. This is not an action movie, there are about three fighting scenes and all of them last less than a minute. Anyone that watches this expecting a bloody viking tale, is going to be disappointed. It's a very quiet movie, there's barely any dialogue and the main protagonist himself has no lines. There's barely any direct information, I'd argue just enough to make you aware of the setting, but you'll be alone with your considerations for the most part. It is not a long movie, but it's a slow one. Many moments will feel longer than they actually are, which can be either good or bad depending on who's watching. It's a good experience for those who are into a contemplative tone some narratives take, I don't personally dislike it.
There's one thing that everyone might possibly agree on: The movie looks very good. The landscapes are absolutely gorgeous, the direction of photography is great. Running the risk of sounding pretentious, I'd say that the scenery is responsible for a big portion of the substance of the movie. This movie feels like a poem translated to cinema. If the (few) dialogue lines are the stanzas of the poem, the landscapes correspond to the rhythm. However, as beautiful as it is, the photography is not holding everything together, without the help of the soundtrack. I don't care what one chooses to call it - drone, dark-ambient - I only know that it fits. It's had to describe, but if, once again, I have to risk sounding pretentious, I'd say that the music sounds as if it emanated from that world itself; it feels like a natural element like the mountains, the mist and all else that is palpable, but that the ultimate function is having an inner impact. I won't claim that there is an objective meaning behind how this flick is structured, maybe the elements it relies on are too abstract for anyone to be certain, but I feel I was able to grasp something; and ultimately find a message. Just as in any other kind of art, the object itself is only 50% of the process, the rest depends on whoever interacts with it. Now, let's move on to what I think I got from this whole thing.
Putting the abstract elements aside, I'd say that this movie does a pretty decent job at exposing its main themes; maybe, context is a better word. We get to watch the ages-old feud between pagans and christians who think they're building the perfect world. One-Eye is an interesting figure because he doesn't really take sides. Originally he was kept as a slave to pagans, but later set towards Jerusalem with the christian vikings. The thing is, it's never truly clear who he is, which side he's standing on. Ironically, One-Eye is the most godlike figure of the story, men seem to fear him for his strength, he doesn't really speak directly to them, his will is put into words by Are, that assumes this prophetic figure analog to the many men who communicated the rest of mankind the words of God. When men kill each other in front of him he does nothing, if they rise against him, he smites them with his wrath. It's very subtle how many elements of the christian lore, and its main figures, are included in the protagonist's actions. If we assume that One-Eye is really an analogy for God, it's even more interesting to notice how undisturbed he is to see men taking the most extreme actions for the sake of their beliefs. Ironically, the main thing about the christian vikings of this movie is that their quest to the holy land leads them to "hell" and, instead of being united by their fate, they end up brutalizing each other in the name of God; or for the lack thereof. So, in the same way one can try to make analogies between the protagonist and God/Christianism, one could also argue that his complete lack of disturbance towards all the chaos that happens is a comment on how ultimately people are killing themselves for nothing, that there is no God and all those acts are meaningless. All the violence, the will to dominate and apply your ideals to other cultures, all in the name of God, but it's also what leads the christians to their doom. All this makes me think of a quote by Nietzsche, "In truth,there was only one christian and he died on the cross." As for the fate of One-Eye himself, it's debatable. We don't know anything about his past, where he came from or what his objective was. One of the characters tells him at first that there's more to life than vengeance, also the trailer makes it seem like he is a man on a quest for vengeance. Actually, we never really see him get revenge on anyone, he only attacks to preserve his own life. True, he killed the people who kept him as a slave, but that's not vengeance if he was merely trying to get his basic right: Freedom. Was he a messianic figure? After all, just like Christ, he didn't discriminate against anyone, no matter if they were pagans, sinners, or if they were followers. His name, is it a reference to Odin or, if we do some mental gymnastics, an analogy to how God sees us all through a single scope? We're all equal to the eyes of God. His death in the end, the way he sacrifices himself to save Are, is it a reenactment of Christ's sacrifice for the sake of mankind? Too many possibilities, but no objective answer. One might choose whatever they want.
I think that now it's time to finish this review. I expected one thing but found something completely different; yet, I'm not frustrated. I liked this movie. I think it's some good food for thought. You get to reflect upon religion, colonization, the violent essence of mankind, the clash between different visions, etc. It's a good movie to me, I think it's biggest mistake was trying to present itself, and I'm talking about the trailer, as something it definitely isn't. Not perfect, but it's not terrible either.
There's one thing that everyone might possibly agree on: The movie looks very good. The landscapes are absolutely gorgeous, the direction of photography is great. Running the risk of sounding pretentious, I'd say that the scenery is responsible for a big portion of the substance of the movie. This movie feels like a poem translated to cinema. If the (few) dialogue lines are the stanzas of the poem, the landscapes correspond to the rhythm. However, as beautiful as it is, the photography is not holding everything together, without the help of the soundtrack. I don't care what one chooses to call it - drone, dark-ambient - I only know that it fits. It's had to describe, but if, once again, I have to risk sounding pretentious, I'd say that the music sounds as if it emanated from that world itself; it feels like a natural element like the mountains, the mist and all else that is palpable, but that the ultimate function is having an inner impact. I won't claim that there is an objective meaning behind how this flick is structured, maybe the elements it relies on are too abstract for anyone to be certain, but I feel I was able to grasp something; and ultimately find a message. Just as in any other kind of art, the object itself is only 50% of the process, the rest depends on whoever interacts with it. Now, let's move on to what I think I got from this whole thing.
Putting the abstract elements aside, I'd say that this movie does a pretty decent job at exposing its main themes; maybe, context is a better word. We get to watch the ages-old feud between pagans and christians who think they're building the perfect world. One-Eye is an interesting figure because he doesn't really take sides. Originally he was kept as a slave to pagans, but later set towards Jerusalem with the christian vikings. The thing is, it's never truly clear who he is, which side he's standing on. Ironically, One-Eye is the most godlike figure of the story, men seem to fear him for his strength, he doesn't really speak directly to them, his will is put into words by Are, that assumes this prophetic figure analog to the many men who communicated the rest of mankind the words of God. When men kill each other in front of him he does nothing, if they rise against him, he smites them with his wrath. It's very subtle how many elements of the christian lore, and its main figures, are included in the protagonist's actions. If we assume that One-Eye is really an analogy for God, it's even more interesting to notice how undisturbed he is to see men taking the most extreme actions for the sake of their beliefs. Ironically, the main thing about the christian vikings of this movie is that their quest to the holy land leads them to "hell" and, instead of being united by their fate, they end up brutalizing each other in the name of God; or for the lack thereof. So, in the same way one can try to make analogies between the protagonist and God/Christianism, one could also argue that his complete lack of disturbance towards all the chaos that happens is a comment on how ultimately people are killing themselves for nothing, that there is no God and all those acts are meaningless. All the violence, the will to dominate and apply your ideals to other cultures, all in the name of God, but it's also what leads the christians to their doom. All this makes me think of a quote by Nietzsche, "In truth,there was only one christian and he died on the cross." As for the fate of One-Eye himself, it's debatable. We don't know anything about his past, where he came from or what his objective was. One of the characters tells him at first that there's more to life than vengeance, also the trailer makes it seem like he is a man on a quest for vengeance. Actually, we never really see him get revenge on anyone, he only attacks to preserve his own life. True, he killed the people who kept him as a slave, but that's not vengeance if he was merely trying to get his basic right: Freedom. Was he a messianic figure? After all, just like Christ, he didn't discriminate against anyone, no matter if they were pagans, sinners, or if they were followers. His name, is it a reference to Odin or, if we do some mental gymnastics, an analogy to how God sees us all through a single scope? We're all equal to the eyes of God. His death in the end, the way he sacrifices himself to save Are, is it a reenactment of Christ's sacrifice for the sake of mankind? Too many possibilities, but no objective answer. One might choose whatever they want.
I think that now it's time to finish this review. I expected one thing but found something completely different; yet, I'm not frustrated. I liked this movie. I think it's some good food for thought. You get to reflect upon religion, colonization, the violent essence of mankind, the clash between different visions, etc. It's a good movie to me, I think it's biggest mistake was trying to present itself, and I'm talking about the trailer, as something it definitely isn't. Not perfect, but it's not terrible either.