Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is proving to be quite the busy bee this year. After his brilliant “Bronson” debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — and is set for a limited release September 25 — Winding Refn’s follow up is the viking-actioner “Valhalla Rising” starring go-to-regular Mads Mikelson (who was the star of the first film in his “Pusher” trilogy) is now due to play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
A teaser trailer for the film was released earlier this year and exhibits a brutal looking affair (you should watch, it’s still available). Here’s the long-winded synopsis:
“Valhalla Rising” begins on a desolate coast where the heads of warring clans meet in battle. For years, the most fearsome and successful fighter has been an enigmatic figure known only as One Eye (Mikkelsen). Silent and lethal, One Eye has defeated everyone he’s encountered, but he’s treated more like an animal than a warrior. The only person he has any relationship with is the young boy who brings him food and water daily. Constantly caged and shackled, One Eye has drawn the attention of a new force now sweeping the countryside and displacing the society’s leaders: Christians.
Determined to claim territory for his faith, the leader of a band of Christians sets sail on an ill-fated odyssey to the Holy Land with One Eye and the young boy in tow. Referencing masters like Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone with a touch of Andrei Tarkovsky thrown in for good measure, “Valhalla Rising” shows how carnage, once invoked, has no fealty but to itself. Little separates the Christians from their pagan predecessors – they’re just as bellicose and bloodthirsty.
As well as Toronto, “Valhalla Rising” will also be screening at this year’s Venice Film Festival though has yet to be picked up for distribution in the U.S. That’s where you’ll definitely need to go out and catch “Bronson” — not only for the glorious film that it is but also, if it does something decent at the specialty box office, someone might actually take notice and bring you ‘Valhalla’ as well. Fingers crossed. [TIFF/CinemaIsDope]
