Valhalla Rising

VALHALLA RISING (2009) - April 7, 2012
A really well made film about a grizzled, mute, one-eyed viking who winds up tagging along with a group of crusaders on their way to the holy land.  Things don't quite work out as intended.  Featuring some really striking direction and cinematography, the film unfolds at a fairly deliberate pace (not much happens for long stretches), but it's pretty mesmerizing and certainly never boring.  This definitely confirms that Nicolas Winding Refn is a director with a serious amount of talent; the film is visually stunning and quite Kubrickian (after this and Bronson, which plays out in parts as a homage to A Clockwork Orange, it's pretty obvious that Refn is a fan of the K-man).  There's an almost horror-movie sense of dread, thanks to the direction and effective sound design.  ***1/2