Valhalla Rising
Nicolas Winding Refn, the acclaimed director of BRONSON and THE PUSHER TRILOGY, strikes again with his bone-crushingly brutal Viking epic starring Mads Mikkelsen (CASINO ROYALE, FLAME & CITRON). This stylized knockout premiered to acclaim at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and is destined to become a cult classic. An epic tale of war, vengeance and redemption, VALHALLA RISING is a provocative collision of art and action and an unmissable summer movie event. For years, One-Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner - forced to fight for his life and the amusement of his pagan slavers. Aided by a boy, he finds his moment, furiously kills his captors and together they escape, beginning an odyssey through an unknown land. After falling in with a band of Vikings, One-Eye and his young companion find they must confront terrible fate in the quest for their freedom. (Source)
A mute Scandinavian savage known only as "One Eye" escapes his captors and begins the long journey home, only to find himself lost in an unknown land. (Source)
A man with a remarkable talent for violence must fight to survive when he sets out on an extraordinary journey in this fantasy from director Nicolas Winding Refn. One Eye (Mads Mikkelsen) is the nickname given to a nameless, mute warrior who has become a slave to Barde (Alexander Morton), a wealthy Scotsman who obtained One Eye for his remarkable fighting skills. One Eye is a fierce warrior but shows little loyalty to his master, and when the opportunity presents itself, One Eye murders Barde and his mercenaries and sets off on his own, with a young boy (Maarten Stevenson) tagging along to speak on his behalf. Eager to leave Denmark behind in favor of freedom and adventure, One Eye throws in his lot with a band of Christian Vikings, who've set out on an ambitious quest to travel to Jerusalem and claim the Holy Land as their own. But the voyage to the Holy City is a difficult one, and the Vikings are met with violent resistance, forcing One Eye to rely on his talents as a warrior to protect himself and his young apprentice. Valhalla Rising received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival. - Mark Deming, All Movie Guide (Source)
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