arno-1

I have watched a few of the "Viking" movies, and watching this one gives me the same impression. The authors or rather the movie producers must be ignorants in history. If they were better readers of the Norse Sagas for instance, they would have found many marvelous plots for movies, that would make classic epic movies with great attraction to the public. There is every ingredient, such as lust for power and fame but also high spirited men. On the exterior side, there are many great adventures such as the life of Harald Hardrada (i.e. hard rule.) After a raid into the Mediterranean, he became a general in the most advanced state in the Western world, the East-Roman Empire. Later, in 1066, he invaded England to take the throne which he legally inherited. Later on, in 1108, King Sigurd let Bergen with 10.000 men and visited their Norman allies's in Londisfarne. London, Normandie, sunk Moorish fleets outside Portugal, took the Balearic islands for the Moors, visited the Norman king in Sicily, beat the Moors in Syria, left his fleet and men with Emperor Alexis in Constantinople and went home to Konghelle and further by horseback. On the 'interior side' he came home, disillusioned with the practice of the Christain faith in Constantinople. Now that is a story to be told!

This was one of those VERY few movies - that give me goose bumps all over - and chills down the spine at the same time. A splendid and creepy movie - without the standard noise of guns and burnt rubber of US action movies. New turns of events keep popping up and kept me in suspense throughout the movie. A surprising and unexpected end topped this off very nicely indeed. The actors show superb acting with a fine 'low key'. I truly recommended this one! I am fond of short statements, so I see no reason to comment more than this, since the first movie comment really tells us what the movie is all about regarding the story. But since for some odd reason I have to write 10 lines I keep writing, without using junk words. ;-)

A brilliant movie, with a standard but good and complex plot that changes all the time. (Even better than any of the Swedish Hamilton and also the Beck movies where the main actor Mikael Persbrandt plays a main support role.) The plot is built upon the assasination of Prime Minster Olof Palme. One pregnant error in the script concerns the Swedish political party EAP which is used as one of the scape goats. It never was a right-wing nazi party as shown in the movie. Still, the movie is one of the best thrillers I have seen in a bout one year. It is better than the best US movies, such as "Enemy of the State" due to the higher complexity and the high social realism which is more typical of European movies.