Directed by Fenar Ahmad (Darkland), Valhalla is a Danish film adaptation of the Carlsen Comics series created by Peter Madsen and Henning Kure in 1979. A gritty yet family-friendly take on Norse mythology, the movie focuses on Røskva (Cecilia Loffredo), a young farm girl who goes to Asgard to rescue her brother Tjalfe (Saxo Molthke-Leth), after he is tricked by Loki (Dulfi Al-Jabouri) into becoming Thor (Roland Møller)’s slave. It currently has no release date in the US, but is now available in the UK under the name Valhalla: Legend of Thor.
Stylistically, it is a dark and earthy film: presumably aware they couldn’t compete with Marvel’s colorful, big budget Thor movies, Ahmad and cinematographer Kasper Tuxen opt for an emphasis on naturalistic lighting, handheld camerawork, and shallow depth-of-field, which sells the illusion we are actually in the weird, murky world Norse people believed in. The location filming, which showcases distinctive vistas from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, is also atmospheric and beautiful.
There’s some inventive, evocative creative decisions made because of the relatively low budget, from the depiction of the Rainbow Bridge as an ethereal, waterfall-like space, to the use of quick editing to convey Thor’s slaughtered and eaten goat coming back to life. (For the record, that is how Thor fed himself in the stories: mythology is certainly weird.) The prologue is rendered with illustrations viewed through a rippling pool, which is a great nod to the film’s graphic roots, and the mystical wells in the old tales.
That moment is also one of many flourishes that bring to mind The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — the dimly lit Hall of the Gods, carved from stone, strongly resembles the Mines of Moria, while Loki smokes from an anachronistic pipe as if he were Strider. It’s not surprising the costumes and make-up for certain gods resemble those from Lord of the Rings, given how much the Norse sagas influenced Tolkien, but even the style of magic for Odin and Frigg (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen and Stine Fischer Christensen) recalls visuals from Peter Jackson’s films. (Composer Jens Ole Wowk McCoy’s score even seems to homage Howard Shore’s Rings cycle at points.)
The only time budgetary limitations become apparent is with the depiction of the giants: it’s not because they’re not literal giants (the Norse word jötunn is probably more accurately translated as “devourer“), it’s because they just come across as a tribe of more primitive, berserker gods that live in a less nice cave — admittedly that’s what giants are in Norse sagas, but it looks like something out of a deconstructionist take, rather than a film depicting the real deal, and the final battle feels anticlimactic as a result.
Tonally, the film’s look and feel is a stark contrast with the fast paced, uncomplicated script adapted from the cartoonish comic: the kids pal around with a troll boy named Quark (Reza Forghani), and while the gods are jerks, they’re not the dangerous monsters who bring about their own destruction in folklore either. This is simply a sweet but darkly filmed story about a young girl whose impulsive bravery shakes the gods out of apathy, a topical reflection of a world where children like Greta Thunberg are reminding adults that Ragnarök is not inevitable. (The moral is muddled somewhat by the hint Røskva is actually a god though.)
Røskva is a pretty passive protagonist, whose heroism is expressed through deeds, not bravado. Her lack of ferocity and charisma isn’t necessarily bad, since not all film heroes should be the same, but it does make you realize why coming-of-age adventures like these are typically about older children. We do get to see a less withdrawn side of her when (in a very Danish bit of humor) she and Quark eat some mushrooms — which further raises the question, who exactly is this movie for?
Ahmad seems to have tried to make both an adaptation of a kid’s comic and a faithful Thor movie, but kids who don’t mind subtitles will likely be put off by the grim tone, while adults interested in pagan stories may be disappointed it’s shorter, simpler, and nowhere as violent as they might’ve expected. It’ll probably appeal most to young cinephiles looking for a familiar way into world cinema; weird kids who love Jim Henson’s darker, non-Muppets output; and pagan experts longing for something beyond Marvel.
I’ve got something in common with all three of those groups, and I think a Danish fantasy-adventure based on local legends is pretty cool, so I enjoyed Valhalla despite its tonal disparity. Besides, there’s a moment where Odin plays a board game with Mímir’s disembodied head — it may not be Thor: Ragnarok, but I bet Taika Waititi wishes he’d thought of that.
