The Northman (2022)
Country: US
Technical: col/2.00:1 137m
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk
Synopsis:
A Norse prince is orphaned by his uncle and grows up in anonymity, awaiting the day when he will return to avenge his murdered father.
Review:
This earthy Viking saga ranges from Russia to Iceland via magnificent runic inter titles and much gore and grunting. Connoisseurs will enjoy recognising the bits the writers have retroactively left in for the Bard to incorporate when he came to turn their ancient source into Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (there's even an arras at one point); and Wagner fans will find it much easier to negotiate the familiar deities' names when mashed into the not-always-clearly-audible dialogue. As with Eggers' previous work, notably The Witch, there is a mystical fascination with primitivism - moral codes and augury figure highly here - and seekers after happy endings, or even temporary solace, will find this as reassuring as a Béla Tarr dystopia; but one has to admire the single-minded achievement of a closed world so perfectly (re)captured.
Country: US
Technical: col/2.00:1 137m
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk
Synopsis:
A Norse prince is orphaned by his uncle and grows up in anonymity, awaiting the day when he will return to avenge his murdered father.
Review:
This earthy Viking saga ranges from Russia to Iceland via magnificent runic inter titles and much gore and grunting. Connoisseurs will enjoy recognising the bits the writers have retroactively left in for the Bard to incorporate when he came to turn their ancient source into Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (there's even an arras at one point); and Wagner fans will find it much easier to negotiate the familiar deities' names when mashed into the not-always-clearly-audible dialogue. As with Eggers' previous work, notably The Witch, there is a mystical fascination with primitivism - moral codes and augury figure highly here - and seekers after happy endings, or even temporary solace, will find this as reassuring as a Béla Tarr dystopia; but one has to admire the single-minded achievement of a closed world so perfectly (re)captured.
Country: US
Technical: col/2.00:1 137m
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk
Synopsis:
A Norse prince is orphaned by his uncle and grows up in anonymity, awaiting the day when he will return to avenge his murdered father.
Review:
This earthy Viking saga ranges from Russia to Iceland via magnificent runic inter titles and much gore and grunting. Connoisseurs will enjoy recognising the bits the writers have retroactively left in for the Bard to incorporate when he came to turn their ancient source into Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (there's even an arras at one point); and Wagner fans will find it much easier to negotiate the familiar deities' names when mashed into the not-always-clearly-audible dialogue. As with Eggers' previous work, notably The Witch, there is a mystical fascination with primitivism - moral codes and augury figure highly here - and seekers after happy endings, or even temporary solace, will find this as reassuring as a Béla Tarr dystopia; but one has to admire the single-minded achievement of a closed world so perfectly (re)captured.