the Northman will revenge his father, save his mother, and kill that Fjölnir.
The cybervikingsphere is rife with excitement & premature criticism over the upcoming April release of The Northman. In the above trailer it looks like there's much to anticipate from this NorsePlay'd major motion picture, so let's extrapolate some points of interest about what & why that is:
⸶ Björk as the Seeress. It's so spot on to see the avant-garde songstress cast as a mystical Völva witch. In real life Björk's a destiny maker, a musical subgenre game-changer, a talented actress, and winner of Iceland's Order Of The Falcon. Love her. (And she left me candy with a note at my work once. True story.)
⸶ Sjón's co-screenplay. Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson, known by his mononymic, is an accomplished writer whose work contains elements of magical realism, a literary convention which has a striking resemblance to the matter-of-fact supernatural elements presented in the Icelandic Sagas. That aspect could totally transfer onscreen. If director Eggers uses the dark turn in his last 17 minutes of The Witch and reverse engineers that with Icelandic magical seiðr and better pacing then we'll really have something truly powerful & haunting.
⸶ The impression that this revenge story is based on Hamlet, or more properly the legend of Amleth as set down by Saxo Grammaticus in his History of the Danes, which was already done in a Viking-set film Prince Of Jutland (1994 CE). The obligation of vengeance is a value that runs deeply through the Sagas, and with Odin's sons Víðarr & Váli as divine revenge figures, in most instances it's a burning imperative.
⸶ Spear dancers. Nevermind that this is a Vendel Age ritual convention, though there's nothing to say that such a ceremony didn't survive into the Viking Age and beyond. It'll be grand to see a depiction of this.
⸶ Catch the spear & turn it on the caster. This move is straight out of Brennu-Njáls Saga (chapter 54), so to see it used here is legitimate and makes for good action cinema (i.e. the knife throw from Big Trouble In Little China was inspired by this move).
⸶ The Úlfhéðnar. The elite wolf warrior version of the Berserkers. With Alexander Skarsgård leading a pack of wolf-pelted warriors, the opportunity to explore and creatively flesh this out might happen.
⸶ "Völundur"? So there's a listed character named after the legendary smith from the Völundarkviða. This could just be a namesake character since many Norse names were common and re-used, but if it isn't then there's a neat crossover happening here that could include some amazing things.
⸶ A Valkyrie! The screaming albino in her golden swan-maiden helmet riding up into a star-strewn aurora borealis-filled sky! Yassssss!
Given all the Norse Lore-spotting above, NorsePlay still isn't going to make a call as the proof will be in the viewing, but I am happy to see this come to screen. See you at the theaters on April 21st, NorsePlayers!
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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology, field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.
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