History Film / ValhallaRising

For years, One-Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the chieftain Barde. Aided by a boy, Are, he kills his captor and together they escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One-Eye and Are board a Viking vessel but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that first disintegrates as they sight an unknown land. As the new land reveals its secrets and the Vikings meet a ghastly fate, One-Eye discovers his true self.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Valhalla-Rising_4377.jpg]]

* TheCrusades

* HandicappedBadass

* KidSidekick

* MudWrestling

* OminousFog: Gets the group horribly lost.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath

* ReluctantWarrior: One-Eye is enslaved and forced to fight.

'''''Valhalla Rising''''' is a 2009 film (released in the States in 2010), directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Creator/MadsMikkelsen. The film was shot entirely in Scotland, and takes place in 1000 A.D.

'''''Valhalla Rising''''' is a 2009 film (released in the States in 2010), directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Creator/MadsMikkelsen. The film takes place in 1000 AD and follows a Norse warrior named One-Eye and a boy named Are as they travel with a band of Christian Vikings in pursuit of a Crusade. Instead they voyage west to North America. The film was shot entirely in Scotland.

* CrapsackWorld: There are three distinct groups of people in the movie: Norse pagans, Norse Christians, and [[spoiler: Native Americans]]. All three of them are introduced either murdering people or having just finished murdering people.

* TheSavageIndian: [[spoiler: They end up in ''North America'' and One-Eye gets beaten to death by Native Americans. They are not any more savage than the Norsemen, however; their aggression is possibly caused by the Norsemen desecrating a burial ground earlier.]]

Summary: For years, One-Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the chieftain Barde. Aided by a boy, Are, he kills his captor and together they escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One-Eye and Are board a Viking vessel but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that first disintegrates as they sight an unknown land. As the new land reveals its secrets and the Vikings meet a ghastly fate, One-Eye discovers his true self.

* AllThereInTheScript: Are and Barde are not named in dialogue, and the end credits just list the actors playing One-Eye, "Pagans", and "Christian Vikings."

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Film/CasinoRoyale Le Chiffre]] is the main guy, and [[BillyElliot Billy Elliot's dad]] is the leader of the Christians.

'''''Valhalla Rising''''' is a 2009 film (released in the States in 2010), directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Mads Mikkelsen. The film takes place in 1000 AD and follows a Norse warrior named One-Eye and a boy named Are as they travel with a band of Christian Vikings in pursuit of a Crusade. Instead they voyage west to North America. The film was shot entirely in Scotland.

** One-Eye also shares traits with Vidar, the God of Vengence and Odin's illegitimate son, who was silent and had great strength.

* DeathOfTheOldGod

the old Gods are no longer true\\

The time has come to crush the old world! To crush the old values!

-->-- '''Music/{{The Leather Nun}},'''

* SpiritualSuccessor: The film clearly draws a great deal of influence from ''AguirreTheWrathOfGod'', with its European warriors blundering through TheNewWorld, adrift on a river, beset by hostile natives, slowly going insane, and ultimately meeting a bad end.
* TheCrusades

* RiverOfInsanity: In the latter part of the movie.

* [[TattooedCrook Tattooed Badass]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[CasinoRoyale Le Chiffre]] is the main guy, and [[BillyElliot Billy Elliot's dad]] is the leader of the Christians.

* RapeIsFunnyWhenItIsMaleOnMale: Averted. [[{{Squick}} Yeesh.]] And [[{{RightThroughHisPants}} ambiguous]].

* CoversAlwaysLie: The British DVD cover presents the film as a [[ThreeHundred 300]]-style action movie, rather than the bleak suspense thriller which the box actually contains. European covers were generally more loyal.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The film makes very few historical claims, but even then they don't match up very well. TheCrusades were triggered in 1095, about a century later than the purported setting of the movie.-- While the period around 1000 AD saw indeed some violent confrontations between pagans and Christians in Scandinavia, such religious struggles had little impact in the British Isles. Then again, it's never really specified whether the first part of the movie is supposed to take place in Scotland (where it's filmed), or possibly in Norway.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The film makes very few historical claims, but even then they don't match up with the facts very well. TheCrusades were triggered in 1095, about a century later than the purported setting of the movie; and while the period around 1000 AD saw indeed some violent confrontations between pagans and Christians in Scandinavia, such religious struggles had little impact in the British Isles, where the Norse had begun converting to Christianity[[hottip:*:or, more accurately, something that resembled it]] as early as the 9th century.