Customer Reviews

Severed Ways

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

***1/2

As I was saying just the other day, you simply don't see enough good, old-fashioned Viking dramas these days, do you? Then, lo and behold, what should appear but "Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America" to help fill the void and make us all wiser as to just how brutal and savage life could be at the turn of the last millennium (the movie is set in 1007 A.D.). However, let it be noted for the action fans in the audience that "Severed Ways" is, if anything, an "art" Nordic drama, a documentary-style, largely wordless cross between "Quest for Fire" and "The New World" - with even a bit of "The Blair Witch Project" thrown in for good measure (the palsied camerawork is what reminds us most of that film).

Orn and Volnard (don't ask me which is which) are two young Norsemen who have embarked on an expedition to North America with other members of their tribe. When their compatriots are killed in a battle with some natives called Skraelings, the two strapping lads flee to the forest where they hide out, search for food, build a makeshift shelter and fight off packs of ravenous animals. They also encounter a couple of Christian monks and more of those dreaded Skraelings. Heck, there's even a doe-eyed squaw named Abenaki who drugs and kidnaps one of the boys and makes passionate love to him in her thatched wigwam.

I must admit I kind of admire the sheer lunacy of producer/writer/director/editor Tony Stone's vision (he also plays Ork, which makes him pretty much a one-man show on this film). After all, it isn't often one comes across a movie set in the 11th Century that also features a highly eclectic and utterly anachronistic musical soundtrack ranging in style from pseudo-headbanger to ersatz-Rachmaninoff to quasi-Enya to flat-out monster truck rally commercial. Just for the record, however, the actual recording artists include Popul Vuh, Dimmu Borger, Judas Priest, and Burzum, among others. Actually, the score is probably the single most intriguing aspect of the movie.

I`m not sure of the wisdom of having these ancient warriors speaking in subtitled modern slang ("This fish is killer," "We`re toast if we stay here," etc.), since it encourages us to giggle right at the moments when we should be taking the story most seriously.

Nevertheless, the movie does earn itself some points for its complete lack of sentimentality as well as for its refusal to shy away from depicting the harsh, brutal realities of life at that time (one does wonder, though, just how many trees and animals may have been hurt in the making of this film). Yet, even here Stone goes too far at points. Stark realism is one thing, but watching an actor literally emptying his bowels in full view of the camera is quite another. Still, I guess that's one way of ensuring for yourself and your work a permanent place of record in the annals of motion picture history.

"Severed Ways" may be easy to poke fun at, but it's so utterly out-there and loopy - and so doggedly sincere in that loopiness - that you simply can't help but be drawn into it. In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about "Severed Ways," but I am sure that I will never forget it.

"Severed Ways"
Directed by Tony Stone
(Magnolia Films, 2009)
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NOTE: Spoilers below
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It is amazing to realize that Viking explorers came to North America over a thousand years ago -- fully five hundred years before the Spanish, French and British colonized the continent. This film is set in the era of the Viking expansion, in the year 1007, when a Viking landing party near Newfoundland falls afoul of a band of "skraelings" (Indians), and leaves two men behind when the skraelings attack. The two castaways pull themselves together and decide to hike cross-country to seek the Viking settlement of Vinland; along the way they confront two aspects of the new, future world -- the unknown frontier and a new religion, Christianity, which (in this script, at least) now challenges the "old ways" of the Norse gods of Odin, Thor, et. al.

The movie is an ode to the mythologized Viking spirit which has been seized on by some metalheads as an emblem for their music, but even with this seemingly blunt premise, the film has a surprisingly meditative feel. Although some of the hand-held effects are trying, overall the cinematography is sweeping, evocative and expressive -- the scenes of nature and the endless woods of the Eastern seaboard are continually arresting, and the illusion of these two men being stranded in the 11th Century wilderness is convincing. There is very little dialogue (and all of it is dubbed into Nordic dialect) with most of the story being told visually, with surprising effectiveness. Some sequences seem gratuitous -- most notably Tony Stone's character seen relieving himself in the woods, with Stone actually defecating onscreen; there is also a scene in which a church is burned and the smoldering cross is felled by an axe. It's heavyhanded, but ultimately it fits into the vision of the script. Here we see the first thoughtless marauding of European men into the interior of North America; they are violent, frightened and destructive, but also resourceful and bold, and in search of a new way of life. A film that could have been loud and loutish is instead thoughtful and evocative, with a soundtrack to match, both eerie and subtle, and hardly the chord-crunching metalfest you might imagine.

Viewers (and potential viewers) will be split on this film... I imagine most people will avoid it because of what they assume it will be like, but it is not the crude Conan The Barbarian film they foresee. To be sure, there are elements of this macho swords-and-sandals mythology at play, but on the whole this is a rather effective, believable semi-historical drama about man-versus-nature, and the tragedy of man-versus-man. It's a more mature film than you might imagine, and destined to be a cult favorite for a certain brand of film fans, mainly those creative re-enactment types who value realism and historical narratives. Definitely worth checking out, if you think it's at all something you'd enjoy. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film review blog)

Stoked its finally released on dvd. Saw this at Angelika and it rocked. This is really an excellent film-nothing else like it out right now. The reasons to like Severed Ways are pretty much the same reasons that some of its critics don't get it. Yes, it is a Viking flick that is neither a swashbuckling/love story nor a Monty Python skit. That is a GOOD THING! It picks up on a footnote from a Viking saga and imagines two young Vikings left behind and lost in America. They struggle to survive. They work. They attempt to WALK home and into Viking lore! Its shot in Newfoundland and it's retardedly beautiful. Even some critics were saying it's worth it for that alone...others got bored by this which is totally lazy... Also, this film is a breathe of fresh air. A lot of new films have a huge script about a cool dude crying about his girlfriend in a bar and there are a bunch of telephone calls and then in the end everybody breaks out their guns and heroine. BIG FREAKING DEAL--seen it all before! Rest assured there is none of that garbage in this movie and finally there is a film breaking the mold. You actually get a singular film experience, something to talk about- maybe even argue about. The depiction of natural beauty is not SW's only epic aspect. It also shows the clash of civilizations in a thoughtful way. There are several carefully scripted vignettes in which these vikings talk about, remember and confront both the rise of Christianity in Europe, and their fears of the skraelings(Native Americans) These confrontations become very real when strange monks and skraelings cross their path. You will be caught off guard by the alternately brutal and tenderhearted ways all of these characters behave with each other. Won't spoil it, but it's not what you expect.

Soundtrack: also epic.

It's a meditation on the impossible.

MAKE MORE MOVIES LIKE THIS

The spoken soundtrack of this movie is in Swedish, not Old Norse. It is recycled from Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" and has nothing to do with the subtitles. This is why it does not sync up. Adds some atmosphere and rather amusing if you do understand Swedish.

Its a low budget film, so don't expect computer effects creating epic battle scenes. And the film is abit slow, but the quality of the story overcompensates it. I came out of watching pathfinder feeling it was a waist of my time, this movie wasn't.

To put most simply... This is the worst movie I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot of them. Please read others for the reasons why. It is one of those that ended up being, well we have seen everything else but WWE section. Truly I tell you folks, this replaced Masters of Space and Time as worst movie I have ever seen. Do not waste time or money on this unless you are just the completionist and just have to watch everything.

This is an OK movie chronicling the trials and tribulations of a couple of Viking warriors marooned in the New World. The themes of this film are pertinent, such as the discovery of America, the Conflict of Cultures (European vs Native American), and the rise of Christianity coupled with the decline of paganism. The soundtrack is also pretty decent. Also, the scene of the Viking dude taking a dump in the woods is pretty unforgettable.

I was thoroughly entertained watching this film. Or video rather. The videowork is exceptional, the soundtrack is fantastic and the overall pacing and feel of the film is unlike anything I've seen in recent memory. Some would call it an art film but that suggests (to me) slogging your way through it only to end up feeling resentful. Granted it's leisurely paced but ultimately this allows the viewer to actually ponder what life may have been like a thousand years ago rather than be subjected to the usual onslaught of narrative exposition. If you're feeling adventurous, give Severed Ways a shot. At the very least, you'll find it thought-provoking.

This expansive, strange, remote, sensory-ride is the closest thing we will EVER get to seeing what 'America' was before we colonists got here. A cryptically elegant journey that is elliptical and linear, segmented with a weirdly compelling undercurrent showcasing what men derive out of being alone together without female companionship. Each set up visually augments the previous one. If you are knee-deep in Kubrick or Herzog, this is for you. If you're a chunk-head that digs only action retreads, then bail here and leave us the misery of your one-star review.

I bought this film expecting a good Viking yarn mixed with Native Americans. What I got was a VERY poorly filmed farce, with "Black Metal" which sounded more like European elevator music. The "filmagrapher" with the hand held camera must have been nearsighted, his jogging filming, poor angles and bad choices in lighting showed a lack of experience. The "defacating" shot was revolting! The Native Americans seemed realistic, but that's the ONLY good thing about this pitiful excuse for a "Norse Adventure". I will remove this from my collection a.s.a.p. How about a reprint of Nils Gaup's "Pathfinder" I've heard it's an excellent North American Norse Adventure. Sorry all you 4 and 5 star reveiwers, but I must have got a different version than you. I saw the 1 star version.