Page 48 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 124

48 Issue #124 May 2023 www.sportsenergynews.com

In Reel Time

Nordic Track

By Nikolai Adams

ow three movies in, there is no doubt that
NRobert Eggers is one of the more creative
minds working in the film industry today. With
The Northman (2022), the co-writer (along with
Sjón), director, and producer brings forward his
most accessible piece yet. . . but that doesn’t
mean that this is not as creative, intricate,
challenging, or authentic as his The VVitch and
The Lighthouse.

This time taking a deep dive into Norse history
and mythology, it might surprise some that the
main source they worked from was the story of Photo Submitted
Amleth . . . a tale which appears in the “Gesta
Danorum” (History of the Danes) – as it is also
the main inspiration for William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet (it is easier to spot the similarities once
you are aware of the connection).

After an introductory scene that rather brutally
reacquaints and then breaks up the family of King
small community run by Fjölnir the Brotherless their part. This allows the audience to experience
Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke), Queen
Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), and their young son (Claes Bang). Leading to a bloody conclusion what truly feels like a lived in, fully textured
of nighttime subterfuge, blunt reveals, familial environment (it probably didn’t hurt that the real
Amleth (Oscar Novak), their child sneakily flees
their community, looking to survive until a time strife (that might be an understatement), and life locations were in the middle of nowhere in
when he will be able to exact revenge. volcanic levels of bloody revenge, who will Ireland). Mud cakes the ground, rain chills the
survive this epic adventure, and who will find air, fires attempt to warm the bone, while each
Now an adult (played by Alexander Skarsgård), themselves ushered into the halls of Valhalla by and every item seen is copied to look like what
he has become a great warrior (perfectly the Valkyrie? has been found in Viking burial chambers – a
visualized by a near five minute village raid true Nordic feast for the eyes.
Even if this was an absolute mess of a script
scene which contains only a few cuts – meaning,
there are several utterly impressive continuous (which it is most definitely not), the detail and With a scope that far exceeds its budget (which
takes. . . at one point, an arrow comes right at vision of Eggers and his team would still make it a grew from 65 million to approximately 90 million
worthwhile watch. With director of photography due to pandemic delays), The Northman is a true
us). Despite his success, he cannot shake off his
dark past. . . as visions continue to remind him of Jarin Blaschke often using natural light piece of cinematic art. Fusing ancient storytelling
(though there are definite moments of modern with dynamic visuals, period authenticity, and
his fated path in life.
cinematography utilized at certain parts), Eggers mesmeric Nordic folk music inspired score by
Secretly branding himself a slave after getting further enlivens our senses by being as period Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough
news of the whereabouts of those responsible for authentic as possible in regards to costumes, (who is also known as Vessel), it truly transcends
his childhood upheaval, he goes undercover, soon infrastructure, and even longships. It didn’t the medium, providing a sense that we are seeing
forming a strong bond with a Slavic sorceress hurt that the COVID delay actually allowed the something reaching out to us from the annals of
slave, Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor- already built buildings to weather in the natural history – joining nicely with the 2021 Arthurian
Joy) – who can immediately tell that Amleth is elements, while the actors could grow their beards tale The Green Knight (which also exudes a
not what he seems. even longer as well. To further demonstrate the sense of echoes from the distant past). So, erupt

Transported to the rather barren and still quite detail, everything was supervised by experts and for another glorious world created by Robert
isolated Iceland, they find themselves within a historians, with numerous animals even playing Eggers, there’s no doubt you’ll go berserk for it.