"Valhalla Rising" is set in the wonderfully grim and bleak world of 1000 A.D. One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen) is a mute Viking prisoner held for sport by his captors forced to fight (and hopefully kill) anyone they set in front of him. He is Viking entertainment with his only "friend" being a ten-year old boy named Are. His job is to feed and water One-Eye, but who has genuine concern for him. When One-Eye manages to escape his captors and find a new group of Viking-Christians willing to take him in, his journey really begins. This new group has their sights set on going to Jerusalem, but after a painfully long boat ride, where they end up is nothing short of their own personal Hell.

Shot entirely in Scotland, the cinematography makes "Valhalla Rising" a stunningly-beautiful and painful film. There is virtually no dialogue for the first half of the film making it so quiet and intense in places that you feel almost uncomfortable watching at times. In fact, if you turn away for even a second, you lose vital information. I would like to say that it might help to advance the story, except there isn't much of one. Just one man trying to stay alive. The incidental music provides the right amount of tension and suspense needed for all those otherwise creepily-quiet moments. It becomes a character of its own.

There is blood, and a lot of it, but "Valhalla" isn't without heart. The relationship between One-Eye and Are is incredibly moving. Even through all the battles and injuries, One-Eye's first priority is to protect Are from anything and anyone.

"Valhalla Rising" is bloody and dangerous, just like the men it portrays. It isn't a prettied-up Hollywood version of with a happy ending (thank goodness) and may be as close to historically accurate as a film may be able to get.