Reviews

There seems to be a lot of negative reviews on what I thought was a well done film. In this review I will attempt to give it a fair treatment based on how it impacted me. This film is not high quality art like something from the French new wave. Neither is this film another 'artsy' film which attempts to be 'deep' while lacking any substantive message. Furthermore, this film is not another film like Zack Snyder's '300'. Valhalla Rising is kind of its own thing, having more substance than those 'artsy' films while falling short of being a truly phenomenal film. Lacking any education in art or psychology I can only comment on the film based on what I bring to it.

The film is divided into six different chapters, beginning with 'Wrath' and ending with 'Sacrifice'. Right from the beginning, this division into different thematic chapters should make it obvious that Valhalla Rising is not an action film. The film follows a one eyed warrior; the first half deals with his escape from captivity by pagans and his revenge on these pagans. The second half of the film deals with him joining a group of crusaders and their journey to Jerusalem. This journey does not take them to Jerusalem and the last two chapters 'Hell' and 'Sacrifice' are basically surreal portrayals of the breakup of this company. The film features very little dialogue, instead relying on imagery and closeups of the characters.

The message which the director seems to be giving is a bit unclear despite effective use of mood and imagery. I think the view present in the ambiance of the film was obvious: human beings are warlike, religion does not mitigate man's warlike nature and salvation comes in embracing death and the reality of war. However, this interpretation is largely rooted in my own academic background. I picked up on the subjective ambiance and was able to make sense of it in light of my own experience of reading authors like Plato or Jack London. The problem with this is that I have no idea whether this is what the film is trying to say or whether this is simply the subjectivity of the film being matched to my own subjective viewpoints. The major fault of this film is that it did not direct the ambiance into an objective stream; the director does not make any of these themes explicit in any way so there is no way to confirm or deny whether what it appears to be saying is what it is indeed saying. The film simply presents themes like war, religion and violence and expects the audience to interpret these vague ideas into something intellectually significant. While those who praise the film would praise it on this point - that its strength lies in its 'openness' - this seems to be lazy film making. Utilizing abstract ideas through strong ambiance does not take away the necessity to make the statement clear. In a film such as Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' or Malick's 'The Thin Red Line' what is being said explicitly is being enhanced with the implicit ambiance. In Valhalla Rising, what the implicit ambiance is trying to say is not explicitly made clear and so it remains vague upon completion.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the film's ambiance and for anyone who doesn't mind the vagueness around what the film is specifically trying to say, the film will likely be enjoyable. If nothing else, it's a good exercise of critical theory and reading things into imagery regardless of the authors intent. It's clear that Valhalla Rising is presenting a vision of the violence of human beings, it just isn't quite clear what this vision is. Valhalla Rising has lots of depth and symbolism despite lacking an obvious statement, and it is a beautiful film if nothing else. I found it powerful; if you enjoyed reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' this film has a similar flavor.

At a popular level 8 1/2 is a film about the complexities the artist faces, and the complexities of the artist's mind. However, the film goes above and beyond being about one single type of person; it goes into detail on the complexities of the human mind in general. Through Fellini's voyeuristic, innocent almost adolescent look at life we experience a look into our own thoughts, and into the thoughts of all people.

The film is composed of a fairly simplistic plot: A filmmaker struggles to make his next film as its composition date nears, and delves deeper into his own past, dream and reality. On the surface this appears to be a plot lacking deep philosophy or ideas, but in truth it is one of the most profoundly insightful films detailing human nature. Through the use of surrealism the film is able to show how people think, through ambiguity of gender roles, expectations of work and a desire to be comfortable. We get a sense that this filmmaker isn't any different then we are. He isn't quite sure how to deal with stress, or how to deal with his estranged romantic life, so he develops fantasies based on how he thinks things should be. His problems are never entirely solved; he hasn't accomplished anything except the development of a positive mindset by the end of the film, yet things are okay because he accepts his problems rather then letting them run him. Essentially the film relates to everyone's life, because we all face similar problems and the solution is always the same. Our problems are part of us, and moving forward accepting them, rather then wallowing in them is something everyone can learn.

Though it isn't for everyone, 8 1/2 offers a lot for those who are willing to see beyond what is initially there. If we allow ourselves to connect it to our own lives, then it has the capacity to be a helpful and realistically implicit film for the modern age and generation.

Ordet, despite being among the all time 'great' films, is often neglected in face of the many masterpieces of Bergman, Kurosawa or Kubrick. In recent times it has fallen under an unpopular curtain. However, Dreyer's crowning achievement of sound cinema is easily on the same level as anything from Bergman or Kubrick, it has all the power those films have with the possibility of redemption and hope. It is rare for a film to be so dark and feature a redemptive edge powerful enough to actually redeem the darkness. Dreyer's Ordet achieves a level of positive power that moves without first depressing the viewer. So many films must take themselves to the level of dark agnosticism to achieve the power they have, and in the end usually ignore the divine, but in Ordet the power is achieved simply by allowing the ideas of the characters to contrast their own ideals and ultimately find solace in the affirmation of a medium of the two. There is a lot of dark, sometimes depressing nature to the film, but because it isn't made to look like the end or the absolute we get a sense of real hope, even before the divine becomes a thought.

In the beginning we don't have a real feel for the film, who are we in this film? Who do we sympathize with? Despite having an abstract strength in the way the characters play off each other, and the direction, Ordet does not materialize itself until the final third of the film. We begin thinking it to be a film about religious struggle and marriage between families, then towards family issues of loyalty to even the outsider son, and finally we begin to think it is about death, and loss. All these things take dark root, progressively each theme being darker then the last, but in the closing ¼ hour each of them from the small affair of marriage to the large of affair of life loss in turn redeem themselves, each in a grander way then the last. The way things play out is done so as to keep the viewer on his toes. You never begin to think deeply into any one given circumstance, as the next one materializes soon enough, and as a result the ending does two things: move you deeply and allow you to remain as virgin to the film as when you first watched it. After seeing it once it allows you to understand it only partially, and hence you must experience it again and again to impart real knowledge from it. Ordet's real power comes from its ability to not fall into any of the traditional cinematic problems of focusing to deeply on one aspect of the plot. Instead we are allowed to drift in the film, playing with ideas and facing thoughts as the characters face them. In the end we are not totally resolved, but we are affirmed spiritually, and the film becomes a very rewarding experience.

Though it may feel to drag in some instances, and often seems void of a direction I advise any viewers to stick with it. The direction and pace are deliberate, and in the end the result is an unrivaled film to which more and more must be imparted from upon multiple viewings. All good things go to those who wait, and Ordet is a real example of this. Highly recommended.

With Ingmar Bergman's recent passing I have been inspired to write this review, after holding off for quite some time.

I'm going right out and saying it: Winter Light is Bergman's masterpiece. Most critics, fans and lovers of the cinema will cite either Persona, The Seventh Seal, Fanny & Alexander or Wild Strawberries as the film that defined him, and while those are all masterpieces, none of them capture the internal struggle for faith and a need for God that he, and many of us face quite like Winter Light.

The film centers around a priest of a small country village who, recently begins to lose his faith, in God and human beings. He cannot offer any real advice to a depressed man, who is in need of reassurance, because he himself is not assured at all. With tragedy and hopelessness comes a truth about God, that ultimately affirms what many Christians believe. A truth that says he often is silent, and we all must face emotional doubt as Jesus did before we can become affirmed.

Its a depressing film, and it isn't easy to deal with on any given occasion due to its sheer emotional force. I found myself with a desire to turn it off because it was ringing true too closely to my own personal life. However, I persevered and was rewarded with an uplifting, yet subtle ending. It is a heavier film then any of his others, because it is a film that will most likely ring a bell with a lot of of people, whereas the ideas in his other great films can often be just viewed as ideas.

What makes Winter Light so great is its nature to cease being a piece of art, and a film and begin to become an experience to which both atheists and believers can relate. Atheists may relate to the uncertainty of God and the belief in his utter silence (he would have to be if he didn't exist), while Christians will be moved by the idea of hope amongst a world full of emotional suffering.

This is my honest review about a film that moved me deeply. I hope that you, the viewers are moved as deeply as I was by this masterpiece.