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Hola amigos, buenas vibras para todos.
**Hello friends, good vibes to all.
Finally yesterday I was able to see one of the movies that was catching my attention since the moment its trailer was released along with the fact that Robert Eggers was the director. From this side of the screen they have a big fan of this American filmmaker because he was in charge of bringing us films like: The Lighthouse and The Witch, obviously one better than the other but in this case I'm talking about the style. So I had no choice but to wait to see it. Was it worth the wait? - In these lines I will tell you a little about it but in general terms this story was not bad at all, starting with the cast that is one of the best.
If there is something that I personally have always liked is universal history, to know everything that happened before us, cultures, etc. It is more common to know something about Greek, Roman and even Egyptian mythology, but not so much about Norse mythology, which is a pity because it was a really fascinating civilization. What we see in this film is just a small sample of it and yet I was pleased. But if I must clarify something, do not expect something like the series The Vikings or anything like that, although it is true that the Vikings were warriors and savages the reality is that behind that there were many more things and thanks to this film we can understand a little better. Let's see then what this great film is about...
As I told you in the beginning this is a story where the only driving force is revenge, a story that is based on Danish scriptures dating back to the year 1200. We have Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) who is the son of Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) and King Aurvandill or Raven King (Ethan Hawke) who in an ambush is killed. Amleth, unprotected and frightened, has no choice but to flee to avoid ending up with the same fate as his father. While this is happening something inside him awakens, a giant thirst for revenge that envelops him and with which he vows to return to kill the man responsible for his father's fall. From here the film takes a leap of a few years where we will see a prince a little older and certainly more fierce than the boy who escaped for his life.
This story, in case you don't know it, influenced William Shakespeare to write Hamlet, a little fact that I leave you. But back to the movie, in the first minutes what you will see is the context so that later you can understand all the actions that Amleth will have to do, you will see the relationship with his father, with his mother and we will be introduced to all this mystical and incredible world of the gods and Nordic rituals that are anything but quiet and peaceful. I read that this movie was a "failure" at the box office and the truth is hard to understand, I don't know what people want or what they were waiting for with this film, well no, I know what they were waiting for, they wanted the typical preconceived Viking of the series fighting wars. And it's a pity because the truth is that the way Eggers shows us this story is impressive.

I feel that the historical burden that this film has is very great because that was what the director sought from the beginning, that the plot be as loyal as possible to those Scandinavian writings of the tenth century. And you realize that with every detail, the form and the rawness of the rituals, which is undoubtedly one of the strengths of this story, the concept of life that everyone had, that is, their role in this world and how important destiny was for them. Nothing was left to chance, everything was guided by the gods and things had to happen when the time was right. All this that I am telling you is what I think this culture was, beyond how bloody and violent everything was and that we will also see here, these nuances a little deeper is what makes the difference with this film.
But yes, the film has a very high load of rawness that does not become uncomfortable but if you are a sensitive person to this it may shock you a little at times. Personally I thought it was great because everything has a meaning, it's not just killing for the sake of killing and that's it, everything has a background that is not so complicated to understand. Those combinations between the divine and the earthly and more in this culture where they talk about Valhalla and its Valkyries and where there are also witches and priests is spectacular. The earthly instead is given with sacrifices and rituals that when you see them in the film I'm sure they will draw attention.
The locations is another very impressive thing here, this film was shot in Iceland which is a country well known for its great landscapes, so we are with another point in favor. Logically we have the action scenes or those melee fights so particular of these warriors, which are not characterized by being very technical or durable but on the contrary, everything was brute force, a couple of blows and it was all over. So as I said, you will see a lot of blood and mutilations, but I repeat, all very well staged, nothing grotesque or out of place.
The characters I must say that almost all of them are very good. Nicole Kidman impressed me a lot, even though I consider that she is not the main character, her role defines the course of everything, her participation was very punctual but when she does it, she gives a lot to talk about and when you see her stellar performance you will remember these lines. I did not talk about her before but I do it now and I am referring to Anya Taylor-Joy with her character Olga. She is a slave who arrives with Amleth to a land and there begins their story. Not if it is platonic love but Anya for me is amazing, it is true that it is not the role of her life, but I was pleased to see her in this movie doing something I had not seen her do. Here she is like an anchor for Amleth where she shows him that love and understanding can also be the engines that drive his life.
And of course, we have Alexander Skarsgård who is also a surprise because the last time I had seen him was in the Tarzan movie. Here we see a person immersed in the deepest vengeance, one who will not rest until he fulfills the oath he swore to himself. But that within that conflict we also realize that there is a just and concerned man who until the end will watch over those who really care. As I said, not everything is violence and fury, in fact the end of the film leaves a very clear and real teaching.
In short, a magnificent film that at least had me hooked all the time, at no time I was bored. It has a good story based on real stories, it doesn't have great effects but it doesn't need them at all, good performances, a brutal cinematography with a mix of landscapes and colors very top and some scenes where there is a mixture of suspense with the supernatural that really were very well done.
8.5/10 because it is a very good story of Norse mythology, very realistic with what really happened in those times. Robert Eggers' films are worth watching, he is not a bad director and this film confirms it. It has a duration of a little less than two and a half hours. I leave the trailer for you to take a look.
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Bueno mi gente por hoy es todo, espero que les haya gustado. ¡Un abrazo a todos, nos vemos en la próxima!
***Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it. ¡A hug to everyone, see you next time!
