Norse Mythology

Last night @flowerbaby and I were looking for a movie to watch on before bed. After several minutes of scrolling through options on Netflix/Hulu/Prime Video, I stumbled upon Mortal on Prime Video. This film is centered around Eric/Nat Wolff, who I had previously enjoyed watching act in his role as Light Turner in Death Note. In real life, Nat is the son of Michael Blieden Wolff who is an American jazz pianist and was the bandleader on The Arsenio Hall Show.

In Mortal, Eric is living as a hobo in the frigid forests of Norway. He awakens one morning from a nightmare and the trees surrounding his tent have been burned mysteriously. The story slowly unravels more details about why strange things like this are happening to Eric.

It turns out that Eric is an American searching for his family lineage in Norway. There never is an explanation as to how he knew he had family there, I assume he learned it in his dreams without even realizing it. This was a recurring thing, his dream and real world kept melding into one.

Let’s discuss this movie a bit more. Here is a trailer for you to get you even more hyped.

From homeless to godly

Eric is struggling to get by and living a pretty terrible life all alone in Norway. He only speaks English and doesn’t have much besides a tent. When it rains he freezes, when people come in contact with them they treat him like trash. It’s a sad story and something I know many people truly are stuck dealing with in real life.

Shortly into the movie, Eric is bullied by some locals and ends up standing up for himself. This leads him into police custody where he is introduced to Christine/Iben Akerlie, an understanding psychologist who is the only person willing to listen to Eric’s story.

Eric and Christine begin to form a bond and more and more insane things keep happening to Eric. Christine bares witness to these events and learns that there is something otherworldly within Eric. He is unable to control these things, but with the help of Christine maybe he will be able to learn.

As more inexplicable things happen to Eric, the locals start to look at him as some sort of mythological man. Many have extreme interest in Norse mythology and liken him to a god. For the first time Eric is not only paid attention to, but treated more like a celebrity. His new fans wish to look him in the eye and maybe even just lay their finger on him.

An American in Norway

This film was first released as Torden (Norwegian for thunder) over in Europe. Once it came to USA, the name was changed to Mortal. This made me think of my new Hive friend @pusen who lives in Norway.

Most of the movie is in English, but there are some instances where the actors speak Norwegian. I personally didn’t mind this at all and it reminded me of one of my favorite tv shows Ragnarok, which was also filmed in Norway. I have some Northern European heritage in my blood, I learned this when I took an Ancestry DNA test. The show also reminded me a lot of one of my favorite gaming experiences of 2020, playing God of War on PS5.

If you enjoy Norse mythology at all, then you will love the subtle references that this movie provides. It is not hardcore Norse, but there are enough references that someone who enjoys mythology will easily start to see what’s going on.

Super Powers

The powers that Eric slowly begins to realize he has are what really makes this movie. It starts with the accident in the forest where the trees were burnt after his dream. The happenings begin to increase in intensity when he starts showing Christine what he is somehow capable of. He doesn’t have much explanation as to how he is able to do the unthinkable. You’ll learn that this isn’t the first time he has been related to arson, don't want to spoil that for you though.

Some sounds make Eric freak out an unable to control his powers, he even starts having some weird things happen with the weather. Lightening of course shows an attraction to Eric. The god-like powers are enough reason to watch this movie. There are more than just a few unique things he can do and once they start happening you’ll be dying to know what Eric does next.

My rating

Overall I loved the movie. It wasn’t perfect, but I would totally recommend it. Too often these days films just plain suck. This one totally did not suck and even had me on edge at times wondering if Eric would do something crazy. Anybody who is a fan of superpowers should definitely give this one a try.

Be prepared for a shocking ending that all but confirms a sequel. I look forward to seeing the next installment to Mortal.

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