The Northman                  5 stars

When I heard that the new movie, The Northman was made by Robert Eggers I knew it was on my must list. This is the third feature by Eggers who previously made The Witch, set in 1630s New England and The Lighthouse, set in the 1880s. Both were highly stylized tragic stories done with painstakingly realistic sets. Both included haunting representations of mysticism. The Northman is his most ambitious and expensive movie yet. It is set in the tenth century at the time that Vikings ruled northern Europe. It follows the life of Amleth, the son of a Viking king (Ethan Hawke) who as a boy witnesses the king’s murder at the hands of his brother (Claes Bang). The boy escapes and vows to avenge his father and rescue his mother who has been taken captive by the brother. We flash forward a couple of decades and find that Amleth is full grown and is still bent on revenge. Before we get to the heart of the film we get to witness one of the most realistic battle scenes I have seen when a band of Viking berserkers attack and ransack a village, and perform all sorts of bloody atrocities. The extended scene with a camera moving slowly throughout the battle is just astounding. Eventually, of course Amleth finds his way to Iceland (as a slave) where the murderous Brother has settled and where of course the score must be settled. But not before Amleth meets and falls for Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), a fellow slave who turns out to be especially clever. There is plenty of mysticism having to do with prophesies, and communing with the dogs and ravens, something Eggers has captured very well in his films. The story may not be especially original, but I daresay the imagery and use of the Iceland green landscapes are stunning. The Northman has easily set the bar for one of the best movies of the year so far. I can’t wait to see what Eggers will come up with next.