El hombre del norte

Robert Eggers por tercera vez y de forma diferente. En cuanto a la temática y la estructura de la trama, esta vez no es nada nuevo bajo el sol, después de todo está trabajando con una leyenda escandinava real que fue la principal inspiración para Hamlet de Shakespeare, así que si alguien lo llamara un ambicioso Conan el Bárbaro drogado con setas alucinógenas, no lo discutiría. Y aunque el desarrollo de las motivaciones y emociones de los personajes principales en el último tercio es extrañamente turbulento, sigue siendo una película muy interesante, visualmente cautivadora y refrescante en la gran distribución cinematográfica, lo que para Robert Eggers supone un pequeño paso hacia el mainstream, aunque El hombre del norte no sea una película mainstream. El Faro sigue siendo mi obra favorita de este director hasta el momento, de todas formas disfruté de esta carnicería nórdica en el cine y deseo que tenga el mayor éxito comercial posible, pero qué le vamos a hacer, será una tragedia fatal tan inevitable como la historia de la vida de Amleth. (18.04.2022)

Eggers no tiene prisa y se entusiasma con el simbolismo de las numerosas secuencias oníricas, pero nunca encuentra el tiempo para explicar y representar los giros clave en las decisiones del protagonista en proporción a su importancia. Esto se debe a un montaje desafortunado o al guión de un cineasta que sabe hacer mucho, excepto lo más importante: contar una historia de forma dramatúrgicamente compleja y trabajar con sensibilidad sus motivos. El hombre del norte me entretuvo con el espíritu del lobo sediento de sangre, imágenes, el mundo cinematográfico distintivo y la crueldad que no vemos en el mainstream actual. Pero cuanto más tiempo pasa desde que la vi, más me parece una película de clase B presentada audazmente y con un contenido vergonzoso, que como una «epopeya de autor». (21.04.2022)

The Witch remains my favourite, but I definitely enjoyed The Northman more than the overrated The Lighthouse. In the first half, I believed I would give it a full rating. It’s harsh, stylish and in the raid on the village scene, Alexander Skarsgård is a true “animal”. What I enjoyed the most were the shamanic rituals and the mythical scenes, balancing between hallucination/dream and the supernatural. But in the end, I have to deduct a point for something Eggers tried for the first time in this film, which didn’t convince me much: normal, positive human emotions; love, to be more specific. The Witch and The Lighthouse didn’t have anything positive, but here there’s a rather important story arc (between Skarsgård and Taylor-Joy) built on love, and, in my opinion, it doesn’t work at all. So much so, in fact, that until the last moment I was convinced that the infatuation on one side or the other (or both sides) was just a ruse that would result in some evil twist. (14.04.2022)

I was a little wary of The Northman. I found Robert Eggers's previous films interesting rather than really good, and I was worried that in the case of his new film, the trailers might lie and that the result would be torn between an attempt at epic Viking carnage and a not entirely accessible auteur style. But my worries were unwarranted. Eggers has kept himself very much in check as an artist and auteur in an unexpected way, and The Northman is a very audience-friendly film. There's not much room for any interpretations of images, dialogue or anything else; it's much more about the Viking carnage, which is quite simple at its core, and its creator is aware of that. If you accept the fact that Eggers simply wanted to revive a legend of betrayal and revenge, and more than anything else he was interested in showing the cruel world of the Vikings on screen and having a good time audiovisually, you'll be satisfied. Or maybe you'll be thrilled like me. Musically, it's a treat, the one-shot scenes of the attack of the town, with dozens of people dying and blood spurting, made my jaw drop to the floor, because it must have been a mad dash to think this up and organise it to work. But the result is worth it. There's nothing to fault the actors either, and the fantasy elements are inserted into the plot in a non-violent way and fit in perfectly naturally in a wild world full of strange rituals. I really enjoyed the two and a quarter hours. However, I can imagine that fans of The Lighthouse will be a little upset by this actually unexpectedly audience-friendly film. Personally, though, I haven't seen anything better than The Northman so far this year. (12.04.2022)

Fortunately, the big-studio system hasn't ground Robert Eggers down; despite the higher budget he has remained his own, uninhibited and original, although I think that of his three films so far this one is probably the least interesting. The narrative is not exactly flawless, especially in the middle part the story drags a lot, as if it doesn't know which way to go, but thank Odin it catches its breath again with the bloody climax and the final fight is an atmospheric blast. You will also enjoy the unusual insights into the life of the Old Norse, their customs and shamanic practices. The manly Skarsgård impresses with his animalism and muscularity, so his traditional puppy dog look doesn't matter. Nicole Kidman, on the other hand, is a horrible sight when the camera filter isn't mercifully working on her; facial liposuction is evil. Ageing also demands grace. (02.06.2022)