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Valhalla Rising (2009)
Not what I expected, but just what I needed
This movie might frustrate you, probably will, so it's better to get into it without expectations. I suppose that the trailer, that clearly highlights the action scenes of the movie, makes it easy to expect something that this thing ultimately does not deliver. This is not an action movie, there are about three fighting scenes and all of them last less than a minute. Anyone that watches this expecting a bloody viking tale, is going to be disappointed. It's a very quiet movie, there's barely any dialogue and the main protagonist himself has no lines. There's barely any direct information, I'd argue just enough to make you aware of the setting, but you'll be alone with your considerations for the most part. It is not a long movie, but it's a slow one. Many moments will feel longer than they actually are, which can be either good or bad depending on who's watching. It's a good experience for those who are into a contemplative tone some narratives take, I don't personally dislike it.
There's one thing that everyone might possibly agree on: The movie looks very good. The landscapes are absolutely gorgeous, the direction of photography is great. Running the risk of sounding pretentious, I'd say that the scenery is responsible for a big portion of the substance of the movie. This movie feels like a poem translated to cinema. If the (few) dialogue lines are the stanzas of the poem, the landscapes correspond to the rhythm. However, as beautiful as it is, the photography is not holding everything together, without the help of the soundtrack. I don't care what one chooses to call it - drone, dark-ambient - I only know that it fits. It's had to describe, but if, once again, I have to risk sounding pretentious, I'd say that the music sounds as if it emanated from that world itself; it feels like a natural element like the mountains, the mist and all else that is palpable, but that the ultimate function is having an inner impact. I won't claim that there is an objective meaning behind how this flick is structured, maybe the elements it relies on are too abstract for anyone to be certain, but I feel I was able to grasp something; and ultimately find a message. Just as in any other kind of art, the object itself is only 50% of the process, the rest depends on whoever interacts with it. Now, let's move on to what I think I got from this whole thing.
Putting the abstract elements aside, I'd say that this movie does a pretty decent job at exposing its main themes; maybe, context is a better word. We get to watch the ages-old feud between pagans and christians who think they're building the perfect world. One-Eye is an interesting figure because he doesn't really take sides. Originally he was kept as a slave to pagans, but later set towards Jerusalem with the christian vikings. The thing is, it's never truly clear who he is, which side he's standing on. Ironically, One-Eye is the most godlike figure of the story, men seem to fear him for his strength, he doesn't really speak directly to them, his will is put into words by Are, that assumes this prophetic figure analog to the many men who communicated the rest of mankind the words of God. When men kill each other in front of him he does nothing, if they rise against him, he smites them with his wrath. It's very subtle how many elements of the christian lore, and its main figures, are included in the protagonist's actions. If we assume that One-Eye is really an analogy for God, it's even more interesting to notice how undisturbed he is to see men taking the most extreme actions for the sake of their beliefs. Ironically, the main thing about the christian vikings of this movie is that their quest to the holy land leads them to "hell" and, instead of being united by their fate, they end up brutalizing each other in the name of God; or for the lack thereof. So, in the same way one can try to make analogies between the protagonist and God/Christianism, one could also argue that his complete lack of disturbance towards all the chaos that happens is a comment on how ultimately people are killing themselves for nothing, that there is no God and all those acts are meaningless. All the violence, the will to dominate and apply your ideals to other cultures, all in the name of God, but it's also what leads the christians to their doom. All this makes me think of a quote by Nietzsche, "In truth,there was only one christian and he died on the cross."
As for the fate of One-Eye himself, it's debatable. We don't know anything about his past, where he came from or what his objective was. One of the characters tells him at first that there's more to life than vengeance, also the trailer makes it seem like he is a man on a quest for vengeance. Actually, we never really see him get revenge on anyone, he only attacks to preserve his own life. True, he killed the people who kept him as a slave, but that's not vengeance if he was merely trying to get his basic right: Freedom. Was he a messianic figure? After all, just like Christ, he didn't discriminate against anyone, no matter if they were pagans, sinners, or if they were followers. His name, is it a reference to Odin or, if we do some mental gymnastics, an analogy to how God sees us all through a single scope? We're all equal to the eyes of God. His death in the end, the way he sacrifices himself to save Are, is it a reenactment of Christ's sacrifice for the sake of mankind? Too many possibilities, but no objective answer. One might choose whatever they want.
I think that now it's time to finish this review. I expected one thing but found something completely different; yet, I'm not frustrated. I liked this movie. I think it's some good food for thought. You get to reflect upon religion, colonization, the violent essence of mankind, the clash between different visions, etc. It's a good movie to me, I think it's biggest mistake was trying to present itself, and I'm talking about the trailer, as something it definitely isn't. Not perfect, but it's not terrible either.
Häxan (1922)
Weird hex, but okay
This is one of the weirdest documentaries I've ever watched, but it's also the oldest I've ever watched and the theme is pretty odd itself. This documentary is divided in acts. It starts with depictions, imagery and textual information concerning witchcraft and beliefs; the images are somehow suprisingly good and really well constructed. It delves deeper into the beliefs of the folk from the old ages concerning events that they would label as witchcraft/sorcery for the lack of understanding of how things worked and why they happened - things such as plague and other types of sickness. There are scenes in which real people take the roles of the folk in the images that are shown through the movie; this weird pairing creates an odd feeling and for me personally I'd prefer if the movie stayed focused only on showing images rather than trying to act situations. Nevertheless it is a weird and interesting watch; I wouldn't say though that this is a perfect study on witchcraft and pagan practices, in fact it seems to be mistaken in many points but the overall spirit follows the right directions. If anything I'm pretty sure some of these scenes have their value for a good laugh.
Fight Club (1999)
We should actually talk about the Fight Club
Fight Club is one of those movies that hits the spot without missing an inch of it. The nameless narrator (Edward Norton) is an insomniac office worker who lives a materialistic life. From the very beginning the movie comments on the capitalist nature of society by portraying how consumerism moves the world, but is unable to give relief in the end. Flipping through catalogues of new furniture for his apartment is the narrator's only personality trait. To fight against his insomnia he starts attending to support groups. By lying to people, pretending he has conditions he does not have, the narrator finds relief - the emotional acceptance he finds in the support groups is enough to allow him to sleep at night. The emotional complexity of the character is nothing unrealistic. David Fincher makes a subtle, yet clear, comment on the nature of materialist societies where no one really listens to each other nor care about each other. The system doesn't care about anyone, the distance between people - especially enhanced by how they function in the capitalist world - is a major plot point. However, when the narrator is finds someone who's a faker just like him he loses his emotional escape - " Her lie reflected my lie. Suddenly, I felt nothing. I couldn't cry, so once again I couldn't sleep".
Shortly after Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is introduced into the story, the main character loses everything he valued. Deprived of his possessions he seeks solace in the company of a man who is the polar opposite of what he is. If the narrator is a worker who's way too worried about his condo and his job, Tyler is a freewheeling soapmaker who couldn't care less about all those things. The contrast between them is clear; Tyler refuses any consumerist logic from the narrator whilst making he see how futile is the lifestyle he was leading - "Right. We are consumers. We're the by-products of a lifestyle obsession." The characters portrayed here are so different because one of them is free, while the other is not. Tyler, in a nihilistic way, helps the narrator realize that his existence is meaningless enough - something that is clearly displayed in the capitalist world - that all they can do is giving up everything. The self-destruction promoted by the Fight Club is ironically what allows the narrator - as well as many other frustrated men - to find solace in their mundane life. Little by little the narrator is stripping himself off his previous beliefs about job, about behavior and the value of things. It's interesting to note that the narrator doesn't quit his job immediately, picturing how hard it is actually to cut ties with the system - he eventually does though.
Many subtopics are discussed through the movie. We see the narrator and Tyler, now living together, talking about many things. They talk about how both had an absent father, how both lacked a sense of direction in life at some point and were told to follow the common sense - "He says, 'get a job'. So, I'm 25, I call again and say, 'now what?' He says, 'I dunno. Get married". The nature of the system we live in tells us what to do since the moment we're born, while both of them agree on that, they also agree that this is all a great waste of time. It's important to notice though that both them had no significant connections with other people, especially with women as Tyler comments - "We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need".
As the club grows the movie delves even deeper in those reflections about what really matters in life - "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s**t we don't need". Tyler becomes the source of inspiration for everyone who attends to the fight club; everyone is much more like the narrator, but they're striving to be more like him. At some point, Tyler decides that the club is meant to be something bigger - what he would call Project Mayhem. While the original Fight Club was something kept like a secret idealized to give some sort of freedom, through self-destruction, to its members, Project Mayhem is about declaring a fight against the system. The frustrated collective consciousness was the straw that broke the camel's back - "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pi**ed off". However, the narrator starts to slowly go against what Tyler was meaning to do - kinda of recalling a bit of his past self and a sort of respect for the authority of society - and when this happen it's the moment the movie reaches its climax.
The genius of the movie is displayed when we discover that Tyler Durden and the narrator are the same person, they have always been the same person. Due to his declining mental health and his rather meaningless life, he created an alter-ego - someone capable of manifesting everything he wasn't as a system abiding person. The contrast created by Tyler's different personalities is amazing to watch as the truth unfolds; and the ambivalence created when we discover the truth about Tyler Durden is even more marvelous. This movie portraits very well how a person can reach the extremes of their mind in a system that overlooks the relevance of your very existence - when you become just a number, just a braindead member of society, having your hopes and wishes constantly ignored. In the end Tyler recovers his sanity only to see that his actions can't be reverted - so he only stands by and watches. The final scene is beautiful; what could be bettar than watching the system crumbling before your eyes while "Where is my Mind" plays? This movie is a masterpiece and it is so entrancing because of how real it is - in the end the movie shows many things we know and think but tend to keep hidden. It is provocative, funny and thrilling and most importantly: It is so damn real. The plot aged perfectly and I don't think it is going to get old so soon - this movie is a must watch.