"The Northman", 2022

To Papa, to Mama, to Valhalla: a review of the film "The Northman"

An absolutely brilliant movie that makes your blood boil and your loins burn.

Robert Eggers was once asked if he wanted to make films set in the present day, to which he replied, "No, thanks." Eggers literally kicked the door into the industry with his foot, breaking into Sundance with his debut horror film about seventeenth-century colonists, The Witch, where he revealed Anya Taylor-Joy to the world, and later solidified himself as a major young filmmaker thanks to the absolutely rabid and talented The Lighthouse. Now the filmmaker has made it to impressive budgets, his raging imagination and irrepressible creative energy have taken on a much larger scale, going straight from the humble circle of festival screenings to cinema audiences.

"Varyag" is inspired by the story of Prince Amlet, written in the 13th century (the same story was the basis for Shakespeare's "Hamlet," though William denies everything, but, c'mon! Amlet/Hamlet). Young Amlet, heir to the Danish king, witnesses the death of his father, fallen by his own brother's sword. The boy manages to escape, repeating as a mantra his vow of revenge against his treacherous uncle. Years later, Amlet (Alexander Skarsgard) joins the Vikings, who plunder villages and sell captives into slavery, and becomes a harsh and feral murderer, but the spirits of the North remind him of his prescribed fate. Amlet learns that his uncle has been dethroned and moved to Iceland, where slaves from a ruined village in Kievan Rus' are just being sent. The hero cuts off his hair, dresses up in slave clothes, and plans to infiltrate the offender's new possessions under cover to finally avenge his father's death and free his mother. During the journey, he meets Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), a slave girl from the village that the Vikings have just torn to pieces: the girl recognizes in Amlet the enemy, but does not give up the secret in the hope that he will help her escape.

Eggers didn't come here to make jokes. The director didn't just need the fabulous sums for the production of Varyag: he hired professional historians, archaeologists and costume specialists to make sure that every detail in the film was as authentic as possible. From the amulet around Amlet's neck to the architecture of the villages, all the artifacts and scenery were recreated under the keen guidance of professionals. Even the Viking shields are made of wood according to canons provided by historians. The director's level of meticulousness is understandable: Robert Eggers began his journey in cinema as a production designer, therefore, to put it mildly, is not indifferent to the material culture in the frame. Now that we can say that this is the most authentic Viking film ever made, let's move on to the most interesting part: the mythology. Where would one go without mysticism in an Eggers film? There's certainly plenty of room to go wild.

At the beginning of the film, a mad sorcerer (it is immediately clear that we are talking about William Defoe's character) performs a ritual that initiates Amlet the puppy into Amlet the fighting dog: in the final ritual, the hero sheds the last tear of his life, which is destined to be immortalized in a diamond. From then on he will be haunted by the shadows of Odin, dream of Valhalla and be visited by spirits with the face of an eyeless Björk. The character's fateful visions foretell the course of history, appear on the canvases and speak of the inevitable finale, driving the viewer to an acute neurosis because of the suspense hanging in the air. The director approached Scandinavian folklore with great interest and respect, which immediately infects the audience as well. The Shakespearean syllable certainly adds to the film's aesthetic charisma: very beautiful, though little is clear without subtitles. Reconstructionists and fans of the Middle Ages will probably have to call an ambulance right to the theater due to acute overexcitement.

All these artistic decisions and attention to detail create a unique work of art: the ancient legend seems to come alive right before our eyes, descend from the dusty pages, become four-dimensional and take the viewer somewhere in Valhalla for at least two hours. However, the tone of the narration, not much adapted for modern viewers, can knock the ground out from under their feet: the film may seem pretentious and overly testosterone-driven - in that case you should immediately switch to the "Vikings" series, which has been delicately filtered by the History channel. Despite the seemingly purely masculine story, Eggers, still living in the twenty-first century, makes the central characters two women. As Olga said, "Men break bones and women break minds," and while the guys chop off each other's limbs and seek revenge, the long-haired beasts steal the show. What's also surprising is that the director doesn't need to spend time explaining what's going on or the characters' backstories: the viewer easily reads all the necessary information as the story progresses, another marker of outstanding storytelling.

"Varyag" turns out to be exactly the kind of film you expect from a young horror director - a bloody, uncompromising authorial statement that either instantly fascinates or repulses (like "Beacon"). The six-minute massacre scene alone, masterfully shot in one shot, can plunge you into a deep hypnosis until the credits roll, and whether you like it or not depends only on your personal tolerance for the sight of blood. There's no doubt about the director's skill, but there are doubts about the audience's willingness to vote with their coin for such risky stories. The only thing that could put a spoke in the wheels of the director's future career is the box office receipts. It's too early to tell, but if the expensive Viking film fails, Eggers may not be trusted with big budgets for future projects. Then we risk being left without progressive audience blockbusters and stuck in limbo between comic books and Michael Bay. But that's a problem for tomorrow's capitalist day, but for now it's worth buckling your seat belts, next stop is Valhalla.

This article was sponsored by Andras Lukacs