I enjoyed Robert Egger’s film The Northman. However, it wasn’t my favourite of his, nor my second favourite, to be honest. My favourite is The Witch, followed by The Lighthouse.
The Northman was visually spectacular, but the narrative didn’t hold me captive in the way I’d imagined it would. The ending is something special though and I massively appreciate the serious attention paid to get it all looking as ‘authentic’ as was possible.
Despite not having a speaking part and appearing for mere minutes, the Valkyrie is my favourite character. I can watch her scenes repeatedly and still get chills tripping down my spine every time.
I remember thinking in the cinema, ‘that’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever fucking seen.’ Her blisteringly blonde hair and the fury radiating from her ice-blue eyes was almost too much. The Wagneresque battle cry that powered from her as sh e thundered through the skies gripping a spear and carrying Amleth to Valhalla, all fearsome and war-ready with her helmet and swan feather-lined cloak, made the movie for me.
Upon seeing the Valkyrie, I also remember thinking, ‘wait, is she wearing braces?’ My brain did not want to comprehend what it already knew about Viking teeth markings.
When hunting for background on the Valkyrie and the actress who portrayed her, Ineta Šliužaite, I couldn’t find much, except for this vision board. I’m always way too optimistic when diving into Google to try and learn about the ‘minor’ characters, though in my head, she was anything but.
Oh, and the music accompanying her in the scene (by Robin Carolan Main and Sebastian Gainsborough) has pounded its mark on my soul. No other part of the film score impacts me in the same way as this one-minute nine seconds section does.
There’s an extended version below, too, because there’s more than just me who’ll want to listen to it for days, I’m sure.
Celebrating the strange and the shadowy, the damned and unseen 