#fjölnir. thoughts.

[ofvanaheim]

fjölnir tags.

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

FIRST ROUND: 30th Tilt

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) VS. Geoffrey Chaucer, A Knight's Tale (2001)

Propaganda

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Portrayed by: Dominic Monaghan Defeated Opponents: - Fjölnir [Claes Bang], The Northman (2022)

“Best hobbit. Sam gets all the love (justly deserved) but Merry is the best looking and that’s a fact”

Geoffrey Chaucer, A Knight's Tale (2001) Portrayed by: Paul Bettany Defeated Opponents: - The Sheriff of Rottingham [Roger Rees], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1993)

“Character of all time! He's a smartass and a petty bitch and a poetic genius and a pathetic disaster man, all in one lanky package. He has immaculate swagger! He takes the piss out of the nobility right to their faces! He wears the hell out of a fur-trimmed coat! I can't take my eyes off him whenever he's onscreen.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Merry Brandybuck:

For Geoffrey Chaucer:

“Paul Bettany plays Geoffrey Chaucer to be a witty, charming, dazzling, irreverent troubadour who is also a complete mess. I am not great at putting my thoughts to words but to me he steals the show. He's a fool and he's fabulous.”

“Has there ever been a better character introduction than meeting Geoffrey Chaucer, trudging naked down the road? He's snarky, funny, intelligent and nobody can work a crowd like Chaucer.”

“You know what’s hot? Self-confidence. And holy mother of fuck does Chaucer have confidence. Also hello Paul Bettany’s ass 👀 (I also think good acting is hot and this is a STELLAR Performance™️ from Paul Bettany)”

[psychopomp-and-circumstanced]

Mel B dated an Icelandic businessman called Fjölnir Thorgeirsson and that is absolutely the most made up name I've ever fucking heard.

I may have lost the plot here but Iceland is not a real fucking place.

First they wanted me to believe that Iceland, a real nation on earth, had a dating app to stop accidental incest.

I said ok.. Who am I to query on this tiny island's private matters.

Then they said hey remember that island with the anti incest app? Well hold on to your socks, because baby it's got no crime.

I said, alright, Life is full of the unexpected!

Then they told me mayor of the Nation's capital was a famous sketch comedian.

Ladies and gents and nonbinary themts I know when a joke's being had at my expense.

And now. Now I'm meant to believe that a REAL PERSON, whose occupation is just businessman and nothing else, has the fake cartoon name Fjölnir Thorgeirsson. Really? Does that not sound like someone just spat out a name they thought sounds vaguely Scandinavian??

Fjölnir Thorgeirsson. You cannot convince me that isn't something thrown together cause they were filming a sketch show in 30 minutes and execs axed one of their skits so they cobbled some tenuous bit about Mr. BUSINESS himself, Fjölnir Thorgeirsson, owner of Ice and Land and Associates.

You cannot. This is not a real country. This is a cosmic joke and every citizen of Iceland is in on it and they're mocking us!!

[jeffreystewart]

Norsery Rhymes, Northern Mythology from A to Z King Fjolnir / Feldunir - The Field God of Plenty Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, sometimes Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s Fjolnir / Fjölnir / Fjǫlnir / Fjolner / Feldonir / Feldonr. An Aesir God in Norse mythology. 

His name can be translated as ‘’Field from the Proto-Norse name ‘feldunir’ from the ancient Germanic ‘felþa’.

Son of Freyr and Gerdr / Gerda. He is thought to be a god associated with fields, grains and produce. Considered to be a god of plentiful harvests. Possibly related to the Finish God Pellon / Pekko.

[tylermileslockett]

This poster design contest for "The Northman," organized by "Talenthouse" was such a fun piece to do. It's a dark, and dramatic Viking revenge thriller directed by an amazing director, Robert Eggers, and it comes out today.

After watching the trailer, and seeing the Scandinavian landscape as such an integral aspect, I channeled my inner Frazetta, and imagined our protagonist warrior Amleth, towering above the crest of an erupting volcano, (A nice symbol of his emotional state of rage within- he is a "berserker" after all). After researching the film deeper, I discovered the film's story is an adaptation of a Norse legend, (the source material for Hamlet), so then I knew I wanted to portray Amleth's father, King Aurvandil, as a ghost (a nod to Shakespeare's play) The other supernatural elements/characters ended up migrating into the green smoke organically. At the bottom is our villain, the uncle Fjölnir , who looms menacingly, blocking the imprisoned Queen Gudrun between his sword and a cage of dead tree trunks.

Thanks for looking! If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know below!

To see more of my work, please click my linktree :)

[zoezaw]

Baby bear Amleth was so hurt, aww.

Tbh I love the chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard. I love their performance as a couple in Big little lies, but the Northman turned out to be great as well as Mother and Son lol.

I tried to write a movie analysis, but it turned out I failed to write one but produced a fanfic between Almeth and Queen Gudrún incest relationship smut...

Well, read at your own risk. It's explicit mature content

I will revenge you father, I will save you, mother, I will kill you Fjölnir .

That was his destiny, that was his only religion.

“You were forced upon your mother”

“I never mourned your father”

Those queen’s poisonous words are like a sharp blade plunged toward Amleth’s deep heart.

Amleth’s lips trembled, his eyes filled with tears, shattered like broken glass, tears rolling down his face, he stared at his vicious mother in utter disbelief. The tears running down his cheeks burned like scorching fire, it hurts so badly. 

The way she expressed her pleasure about her new family, her new husband, and her newborn son with his stepfather traumatized him, it disrupted his innocent thoughts of his beautiful kind mother depicted in his mind.

He was just merely a creation by a rapist, forced into her mother's womb, a child spurned by his mother, and a child who was born in this world without his mother's blessing. 

He dreamed about her on endless nights, he missed her. Finally, he showed up in her footsteps. 

All he wanted to do was save her. Free her from hell. 

He was longing for his mother’s warm embrace, he did not expect his mother would repel him and push him away in such a cruel bloody way. He was completely broken down. 

He is abandoned by the world. Even now, his mother abandoned him. 

"Fjölnir ordered your death, with your own mother's blessing. ”

Those words are too poisonous, too toxic. 

He denied, he denied, and denied!

He disbelieved his mother’s words, his mother’s happiness. He told the queen, he was the one who watched his mother being abducted by Fjölnir, and saw his mother struggle and scream.

The queen said she was laughing.

Maybe the mother’s love for her dead husband was not sincere, but to Fjölnir, was even more so. The queen’s deceit is more of a self-deception. Maybe she just wanted to preserve her dignity, she did not want her dignity corrupted by her son as her husbands did to her, seeing her as a weak woman waiting to be rescued.

Or maybe the queen just wants to revenge? She wanted to inflict her anger on her unblessed child created from rape. She wanted to see her rage consume her demonic creation and kill him with her own hands.

She asked him, what he wanted to do here now.

Amleth said, “I shall kill you.”

The queen replied, “You love me, a son loves his mother, and her mother loves her son”

Her words were so vicious but so sweet, she stared closely at his eyes, she could see the anger ravaged across the blue shades of his eyes like a tsunami. With her magical soft hands, she stroked his head, his soft golden hair, his face, like a soothing crying baby with lullabies, in the most beautiful tones, and singing the most venomous songs, to hypnotize her son.

Amleth was in a trance at the moment, he thought he finally received his mother’s love. Little did he know, she was just to befuddle his son’s pure attachment to his mother; she was actually planning to annihilate his mother’s image. 

“If you are so hot for revenge, if you kill Fjölnir , if you kill Thórir, and if you are so untamed to kill my Gunnar, You will be my new kingdom, together we will rule…..” while she spoke softly, her beautiful finger tips are like on a harp, plucking his neck like that, teasing beyond his limit.

She strangled his neck, at this very moment Amleth looked like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. His mother is a butcher now, who controlled upon his faith. His mother destroyed the image of his mother depicted in his mind, crushed his belief as a savior to rescue her mother and as well as a revenger. 

She brought his faith to death, instead, she opened up a door for a path never imagined before.

She looks like a poisonous snake, she wrapped around his neck, her face was close enough to his, her nose tip rubbed on his, he lowered his gaze, and was reluctant to stare into hers, his eyes are closed, his brows are furrowed, his thoughts are in chaos, his heart is struggling with sudden unprepared feelings. She sealed the whispers on his lips, her soft lips enclosed his lips, and she gently pressed his lips, preventing him from retreating, slowly approaching, finally blocking him, guiding him to entangle her lips and teeth. She encouraged Amleth to get rid of his masculine rational thoughts and sink himself in her bewitching sensibility.

His raw nature brought out his reciprocal response to answer his mother’s kiss, he sucked his mother’s lips like a newborn, lips brushing it back and forth paranoidly and passionately. 

He kissed back the evil queen, the mad woman

He envied her love for her new son,

He wants to take this love back

This love is his, is his.

It should have been his.

He surrendered to her. He escaped from the struggles, he craved her madness, and he was willing to fall for her. But at the same moment, he selfishly thought that she can only belong to him. Maybe that incestuous nature has been suppressed for too long, maybe they should be like this, sharing the same bond.

He will save her, himself will be her heaven.

He is her creation, he is a part of her, he is her dead husband's son, and he is more qualified to own ever than his stepfather. 

He thought of this evil woman whom he was madly obsessed with, who hurt him with cold-blooded words, constantly wobbled between love and hate on him.

This vicious woman should be killed, but he is obsessed with her viciousness, he is obsessed with her disgusting nature, he is obsessed with her crazy temperament. He naively thought that just by killing her beloved, he can have her completely, this woman's love.

Amleth opened his eyes, he felt the woman clinging to his pants, dawdling, teasing him with her charming eyes, she was unbuttoning his belt with one hand, panting in his ear.

“My prince, my king, be honest to yourself….”

His sword fell, and without hesitation, he grabbed her neck with great strength, he groaned “say again..”

“Let me bear your child, my king”  she gasped.

She is degrading and vile. 

He flipped her to the ground, pinned her in a missionary position, he droved his desire under her gown harshly, he was wildly yearning for her poisonous curse on him while his desire buried deep inside her womb, he wished to see the rage on her face so eagerly, just like how she snapped at him earlier, like a toxic Egyptian Cobra.

He was born to be punished by her.

 He was disappointed not to have his mother rage and curse, and just to have her mother’s pathetic obscene cries answered his fucking. 

He was completely lost like a child, but furious at the same time. Is this what this woman wanted? To ruin and obliterate her trueborn disgusted first son by her own hands, make a new husband out of his son?

Lust defeated him, lust dazed him.

 His true incest instinct persuaded him to own his queen, his queen is all he longed for. No matter what the cost it is to kill everyone by her side, even her dearest son. He wanted to own her, they can build a kingdom together, they could produce tons of beautiful blonde children,  and continue their incestuous bloodline. They are not destined to love each other but destined to be alike. He is just a part of her, an incomplete part of her. And he is going to complete that part of her. 

If this is what she wanted, then let it be. He is going to put a son in her, just like his father. 

She laughed like a mad witch, while he collapsed on her breast after pumping his last load of seeds into her womb. She finally lured her incestuous creature into a trap, she grabbed a dagger so hatefully, prepared to pierce it through his son’s bare chest. Amleth was shocked and dogged by her attack, unintentionally pointed the dagger toward her, and drove the dagger into her heart. 

He grabbed her in his arms, staring in disbelief at the queen’s pale face with blank, hollow and soulless eyes, questioning her in a monotonous unusual calm tone “why would you do that, why…..”

She gritted her teeth in blood, and hatefully responded  “I am your death”

He did not cry, but tears just uncontrollably slid down his cheek. 

“Yet, I have overcome the death.” He spoke that at the queen’s last breath, eyes filled with pain.

His mother murdered his past. His mother made a man out of him but murdered that little innocent boy in him. 

He never understands his mother’s betrayal, just like his mother doesn’t believe in his naivety.

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

I hate how the mere fact Gunnar dies in "The Northman". He was such a sweet kid, and the way Amleth defended him was so moving, as if he saw himself as a child in him, the child he was before all the trauma.

I was sort of hoping Amleth would steal Gunnar and raise him as his own along with Olga instead (Just like he wanted to do before discovering her mother was straight up evil). If they made Fjölnir and Gudrún believe they had killed him in order to make them suffer, at least for a while before the climax where they both died, even better! lol

Would it be unrealistic for a child not to care about Amleth killing his parents and brother even if explained the reason why? Would it be unrealistic for that child to grow up loving his adopted parents and siblings in a culture as different and as "muh honor" based as that of the vikings? Would it be unrealistic for that child NOT to seek vengeance and thus break the cycle of violence? Would it break the rules of the saga genre, be unrealistic, too corny for the ~cool and shockingly violent~ Viking movie, too modern-values-way-of-seeing-the-world biased or whatever, blah blah, etc, etc? Don't know, don't care, and all those objections can go suck a dick.

I thought Uhtred (From The Last Kingdom) growing up identifying as a pagan Dane with 0 nostalgia for the Christian God and almost none for the Saxons after said Danes traumatized him and killed his father was unrealistic and dumb as fuck, especially considering he was 13, almost a teenager, not a small kid too young to remember his life with the Christians later on, but I didn't complain because ~vikings cool Christians lame or so the media goes~ , it was fiction, and there was a narrative reason to make the character that way. Same thing could have been said about Gunnar surviving his family's murder and being implied not to have grown up to seek revenge in the end. Edit: Especially considering I call bullshit on the idea that a woman as willing to discard her own children as long as she comes out on top wouldn’t display that same level of carelessness and even abuse in her parenting style, as the movie seems to imply. Being treated better by his new family would realistically have had an influence on Gunnar and how much he would have wanted revenge.

Amleth actively making the decision not to kill his half brother would have been far more powerful than him dying fighting the villain naked in a volcano (As cool, or hot * no pun intended * or amazing, or... accurate to the sagas? idk as that scene admittedly was). Why? Because that kid, Gunnar, was Amleth, an innocent child almost murdered for the terrible crimes of his father and the ambition of his uncle. Imagine the narrative acknowledging that, acknowledging it is wrong to kill children for what they MIGHT do in the future or the fucked up "evil runs in families" excuse even the villains in this movie use WITHOUT falling into the old "killing child murderers and slavers and murderers who gouge people's eyes out makes you just as bad as them or some shit" lame trope.

"Too much of a modern message for an ancient saga", you may say, but why should we care? Olga was a new addition, Amleth as a character was already molded to modern sensibilities in order to make him easier to root for:

1 Part of a slave trading culture, a warrior who raids villages for the purpose of slave trade-not actually shown kidnapping people nor selling them into slavery.

2 It is implied many of the women in the village were raped-it is nowhere implied Amleth has ever done this.

3 Nowhere is Amleth shown mistreating or massacring the villagers (He is just a passive bystander, which is easier for modern movie audiences to gloss over).

4 In fact, as the other men kill and mistreat people, Amleth appears to be somewhere between horrified by what he is witnessing everyone else do and numb to it after years of desensitization.

5 He never seems happy to be killing people, not even in battle.

5 Very respectful to women and all. Even his mother he is unwilling to harm.

6 He WAS planning to spare Gunnar before the evil mother reveal happened. He is protective over him as well.

7 The writers made him kill Gunnar in self defence instead of premeditatedly and he is even disturbed about it (Which I appreciate, actually, and I thought it moving and fitting for Gunnar to go down trying to avenge his mother, BUT it was such an OBVIOUS in-your-face COP OUT it is INSANE. It was clearly done that way to a) get rid of a character the writers were no longer using or thought had to die in order to tie up all loose ends of the revenge plot, b) doing so all without making the protagonist an unlikeable child murderering prick, and c) the fact Olga and her babies were living and the mother and uncle were going to be defeated by the main character made the ending far too hopeful in spite of his death, almost happy, too unlike the realistic, brutal story they were telling, so yet another child living was a no-no, they needed an ~obligatory shocking moment~ and since using rape is thankfully no longer as accepted, making the mc kill a child he was shown to have cared for was * it * this time).

8 He has some cool scenes where he frees slaves and saves a girl from being sacrificed, you can't get more "modern values instead of ancient pagan ones" than that.

Like, let's be real, the ninth century was ruthless. I don't doubt people like Amleth existed, people who deep down were compassionate and yet were surrounded by a normalized/ritualized sort of brutality they found hard to stand up against. I don't doubt they existed, but they must have been very, very rare. Even so, they make for the best protagonists in period dramas imo because I don't want to fucking hate the main character. I don't, I want likeable characters, and personally I ALSO prefer hopeful endings and good messages regardless of how "unrealistic" or "not the same tone" or "not fitting the values of that time" or "modern" or whatever they are.

Anyway, I actually loved the movie, like 9 out of 10, I really did. I didn't even mind the protagonist dying, it was for real just that one part, what they did with that child character in particular that I personally found to be wasted potential, deeply unsatisfying, and disappointing. Like, not even an hour after watching the movie as it usually happens when I have issues with certain scenes, but right as it was happening.

For real, I hope I am not crazy and that fanfic writers see the same thing I do lol

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: The Northman

Gladiator, Braveheart, 300 and The 13th Warrior are in the pantheon of the greatest sword and shield films. Even if one of them is more stylized than the others, you still get the impact of not only the action, but the eloquence of their storytelling. In every shot you can feel the grit of the sand between your hands and toes, you can feel the sloshy texture of the mud, you can smell the grass and you can taste the blood splatter across the air. Those films have nailed all aspects of placing you in the boots or sandals the character walks in and this film evolves that quality. The amount of attention to detail and mythology behind everything on screen was astounding. I loved that amidst the carnage, their was a heartfelt family drama that had a predictable element, but it quickly goes a direction that was even darker than expected. I loved the character growth and visual storytelling the most. It was uncompromising and pure.

Oscar Novak was excellent as the younger Amleth and he delivers a powerful performance as Amleth witnesses the tragedy that propels his future. Ethan Hawke was excellent as his father King Aurvandill War-Raven. I loved their scenes together and it showcased the traditions of a father teaching his son the ways of becoming a strong man. Alexander Skarsgard was powerful, terrifying and a beast as Amleth grown up. You are with him as his journey for bloody vengeance begins and you thirst for him to succeed. He brings to life a character that is almost beyond humanity and is purely fueled by vengeance. As the film progresses, Alexander brings out the inner goodness of the character as he hunts, but also remembers that he can love as well. Nicole Kidman was outstanding as his mother Queen Gudrún. I loved that there were so many layers to her and a level of fearless passion. Claes Bang was awesome as Fjölnir, brother of King Aurvandill. He goes on a journey of torment and it was great to see him slowly come apart mentally. Willem Dafoe was fun as Heimir the Fool and he commits as you'd expect. Bjork was cool and frightening as Seeress. She may only be in one scene, but man was it mythic and compelling. Anya Taylor-Joy continues to be amazing and as Olga of the Birch Forest, she comes out the gate as one of the most powerful characters. Not because of her sorcery, but because of her will.

The score by composers Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough was the chef's kiss to the entire film. It is thunderous, powerful, scary and fueled by the Viking spirit. It's beauty knows no bounds and it will fill your heart with pulse pounding adrenaline. Visually this film was one of the most beautiful films I've seen this year so far. From the lushes greens to the warm amber light of the many torches that naturally light the many rooms and woods, it was wondrous to behold. I loved the many ties to Slovik folk lore and tales of Valhalla and how they are visually portrayed. Director Robert Eggers has made yet another masterpiece that is pure of all the standard story tropes and is absolutely an experience that shall not be missed. I loved this film and this definitely my number 1 favorite film of 2022 so far. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[rickrakontoys]

The Northman (2022): 4.5/5

A Viking epic that is much more thoughtful than the violent revenge movie it was marketed as.

This is a slow burn with few action setpieces. The meat lies in the exploration of characters and their desires, particulalrly the burden of enacting violent means to a fulfill self-imposed destiny and prophecy. The plot certainly has shades of Hamlet (or rather Hamlet was inspired by the legend this movie is based on), so it can come across as a bit familiar. However, the film forges its own identity through its use of Norse mythology and Viking culture.

Prevalent are the themes of masculinity's proclivity towards violence, blind devotion to bloodlines, the role of wanton barbarism in a culture that values a death by sword highly, and the complex interrelationships between men and women in such a society. These are not explored as much as they are used to add depth to the characters and the world they inhabit.

Protagonist Amleth's quest for vengeance is not so clear cut, as it is hard to see him as heroic for all the horrors he ultimately inflicts in the name of his slain father, King Aurvandill. The film posits the choice to him early on: will he choose kindness for his kin, or hatred for his enemies? The film is an effective display of blood-soaked machismo as much as it is a deconstruction/criticism of it. Even Amleth seems to realize the terror of his transformation into a revenge monster once certain truths are revealed and deeds done.

The film is absolutely steeped in Viking lore, with imagery of Norse gods, Valkyries, and references to the deeper mythology providing painstaking historical accuracy. Various rituals are showcased, often with little to no explanation, which some viewers may find too bizarre (I loved them). Much of the more grandiose imagery provides an ethereal atmosphere, blending the realms of gods and mankind, not quite leaning entirely towards either reality or magic, but settling comfortably into a mysterious middle ground (much like Robert Egger's previous films, The Witch and The Lighthouse).

The cast is terrific all around, as expected from a Robert Eggers film. Alexander Skarsgård plays Amleth with great depth, showcasing unyielding animal brutality and vulnerability. Anya Taylor Joy isn't given quite as much to do here as Olga, a Slavic "sorceress", but her work is always top notch regardless. Nicole Kidman is biting and fierce as Queen Gudrún, Amleth's mother. Claes Bang also provides great depth and pathos to Fjölnir, Aurvandill's traitorous brother who is the object of Amleth's quest for revenge. Willem Dafoe and Bjork provide some memorable minor roles, and Ethan Hawke is impactful in his small appearance as Amleth's father King Aurvandill.

Robert Eggers once again provides impeccable historical authenticity, steeping his gorgeous shots with a mythical, mystical ambiguity. The cinematography is gorgeous, showcasing breathtaking landscapes and stunning shots of natural grandeur. The action scenes are presented with brutality, but the film never glorifies the bloodshed, instead presenting it as horrific, gory, and painful. While violence is the usual goal of a revenge story, here the it is more of a curse or burden that ultimately causes only suffering.

It is a shame this film seemed to bomb in the box-office. This will only result in film producers funding fewer original, ambitious works in favor of easy crowd-pleasing films.

There is a sequence roughly in the middle of the film that reminded me a great deal of a boss fight in Dark Souls of all things... also Conan the Barbarian.

[grandhotelabyss]

The Northman, Robert Eggers’s ostensible rebarbarization of Hamlet, just proves G. Wilson Knight correct in his great essay on the Shakespearean tragedy, “The Embassy of Death”: if we detach ourselves from the rhetorical charisma with which Shakespeare invests his tragic hero, we will easily see that the usurped prince is the villain of the piece, a pestilential visitor of doom upon a civilized court all the better for having dispatched his warlike father.

In The Northman, the almost campily willful Gudrun tries to explain Knight’s argument to her son Amleth—the anti-charismatic and anti-intellectual black hole around which Eggers’s film spins—but he doesn’t let her testimony deflect him from his destiny. That she was a slave and he the product of his father’s rape can’t alter the cosmic legitimacy of his lineage, a vision of the arborescent royal line vouchsafed to him in childhood by the jester-seer Heimir. (Again contrast Hamlet: try to imagine him caring about progeny. He can’t even stop himself from driving his girlfriend to suicide after having possibly impregnated her—though this, admittedly, is only my own “fan theory” of Ophelia’s madness.) 

Amleth, anyway, improves upon his father: to voyage to Iceland to attain his revenge, he makes himself a slave, and attracts a fellow-slave to him on his own merits to mother his contribution to the family line. With this Olga, a Slavic earth-mother witch-woman, he even has a somewhat anachronistic and therapeutic heart-to-heart about his problems getting close to people, therefore representing an advance in consciousness, if not to Hamlet levels of self-awareness. 

Ostensibly, this hint of improvement is the limit of progress beyond which the film won’t venture, however. The vengeful ex-slave and rape victim Gudrun’s rather “modern” voluntary amative alliance with her bastard brother-in-law Fjölnir—a figure of greater charisma and inwardness than his usurped nephew—must die at Amleth’s hands and at the Gates of Hel for the rightful line to be restored. The critics who have labeled the film “reactionary” are correct to that extent. 

But the fated, fatal plot per se provides no real pleasure, and the hero, as I’ve said, is a blank, a brooding meathead. All our interest is in the landscapes—and the women: not only the seductive Gudrun or the sensitive Olga, but also Björk’s beautifully nightmarish blind priestess and the Valkyrie whose flight screams, rather than sings, our unsweet prince to his rest. Eggers’s filmography so far has been warily worshipful (sometimes in horror’s guise) of the feminine divine, the chthonic nature goddesses, and here they encompass the whole masculine tragedy. That Amleth makes his compact with these bubbles of earth—and honorably, without guile, force, or treachery—fits him to be our hero.

Whatever all this has to do with Eggers’s literary sources will have to await a more informed observer than me. I read as much Saxo Grammaticus as was excerpted in the Norton Critical Edition of Hamlet; I also read one Icelandic saga, Egil’s as I recall, about 20 years ago, but it made little impression, and I even remember thinking that despite the protestations of luminaries from W. H. Auden to Seamus Heaney to Milan Kundera, the sagas just didn’t seem (to me) as compelling, as archetypal and richly envisioned, as Homer and the Bible. But maybe I was wrong. (The Nordic fascist or white nationalist type will see this, I’m sure, as some kind of Mediterranean-Latin-crypto-Semitic “racial” bias on my part.) A decade ago, I even read one novel by Eggers’s co-writer Sjón, The Blue Fox, but I thought its fabulist tone was too cute. A filmmaker, anyway, has no right to hurl a syllabus at us; the images and the drama either have oneiric authority or they don’t. The Northman’s mostly do. 

[the-six-fingered-villain]

I keep stewing on The Northman. There’s something there that I’m still chewing on- the humanity depicted not one I’m comfortable nor familiar with. I don’t doubt the authenticity of the depiction (nor do I assume it to be overly accurate though a lot of research did go into it) but the relationship between humans and death and life is just so… mind boggling foreign to me.

The depiction of rituals, the dwelling on the berserker nature, the terrible fates of everyone… What a terrible time to exist. The horror of it draws my thoughts like a rubber necker turning towards a car crash.

I’m not one who normally leans into the viking aesthetic or era- I couldn’t sit through more than two episodes of Vikings though I know it enchanted a lot of folks. This feels similar but different, I don’t know… the solo quest of a saga hero, from the insider perspective of the hero who from my perspective is more savage beast than man… I don’t like our hero, nor am I particularly rooting for him to win… I’m just watching it unfold, stunned…

Ok, yes, I’m predisposed to enjoy Claes Bang but the strangeness of Fjölnir continues to rattle about in my head. That scene where he sheaths his weapon... I want to know that inner monologue. I wish I could go back and listen/watch again all of Gudrún’s encounters with her first born. Have already peeked at AO3 and suspect my want for more of them will not be satiated…

I’m not saying it’s a great film- at its best it reminds me of VVitch and the hyper realistic immersive eye towards a fragment of time, playing by that time’s rules. It’s a touch too long (though there’s little I’d cut) and it’s certainly not one you watch for the plot… but it has that something that trips up my thoughts and makes me want to gnaw on it more to try and savor that certain something flavor a bit longer.

[deliriousramblings]

“The truth lies there, somewhere.“

My memories are a haze. A light fainting color than only makes me dizzy when I try to look closer.

No longer am I sure of my own thoughts and memories, I might have call for  Fjölnir, oh my wise one-eyed God of the north. But I fear the sacrifices and the consequences of what comes in price.

I no longer recognize people, for they all of the same shape and color, mind and soul. I no longer recognize myself anyway. 

I feel like I am being controlled by some energy, or my fate is being toyed with by divine intervention, or divine nonsense. 

I don’t remember much from my childhood, that’s a given. I have learned to live with that. But I don’t remember much at all anymore. 

What did I do last night? What have I done this morning? 

It’s all nothingness, it’s all tiring to think about.

I don’t understand how can someone stay alive without living. I am convinced of my death. My soul’s passed away and now I only remain with the vessel awaiting it’s mortal demise.

No words to speak, no feelings to showcase, no sight to gaze, no ears to tolerate, no emotions to comfort.

What is left of me anymore but a pathetic fleshy mess, where am I to do with this toil, with this heavy burden that I carry, when there is nothing else but that?

I must have lost my soul, or perhaps it was stolen. My thoughts were definitely stolen a while ago, I might have need to go look for them. Take them all back to me and bid them a final goodbye. The time has passed, it’s too late for redemption, what I only have now is spared minutes, lost seconds. I am existing solely out of spite.

One day I shall vanish from everyone and everything, to be completely lost and forgotten like I was never there. Like I never existed. 

My final verdict. My ultimate victory. 

I am going to climb up the mountain, enter the dark hidden cave of myself. Take back my soul and my mind, my hopes and my dreams.

And I shall jump.

Perhaps I will wake up, perhaps I will die, 

But

perhaps

I will fly.

[favoriteanimal]

Not to be a tumblr user but this movie makes me feral. Discussion (with spoilers) below the cut

And this line! This line! When I watched it (both times) I joked "that doesn't mean anything" because I thought it just sounded pretty and didn't really parse, but. I changed my mind.

It is obviously a callback to her "if you lost me, would you go searching for me too? Would you?" earlier in the film, and one thing that's unfolding for me about their relationship the more I think about it is how reciprocal it is, how much agency she has, how active she is in choosing to be with him and having him step up to choose her.

I don't want to spend too much time belaboring this because frankly I'm really hungry and I need to make lunch but if he's not searching for her, she's not lost. If he doesn't actively want her, won't work to be with her, is indifferent or takes her for granted, she doesn't need him. The lost/searching roles (I'm spitballing here, not a thorough analysis) are a way she's framing their romance but he has to dance his part if she's going to dance hers. In this line, she's telling him that.

And he does dance his part, at least for most of the next act. They're partners after this and they literally save one another.

It's easy to gloss over Olga as the obligatory princess sidekick that Amleth gets to have as a protagonist in this kind of story, but I think the narrative was actually really careful with her. Our first scene with her, she tries to attack a raider after her village is sacked. She defends herself from Fjölnir, she provides critical assistance to Amleth when he terrorizes the farm, and when he does actually save her she was ready to die taunting her captor - then she immediately turns around and saves Amleth in return. The last scene in which she physically appears sat a little weird with me at first, but it's a moment of power, invoking her gods as Amleth swims away to finish his quest alone.

Olga is a tremendously active and thoughtful character, and I'm increasingly impressed by the way she was handled in this film.

THE NORTHMAN (2022) dir. by Robert Eggers

[outfitandtrend]

[ad_1] This article contains major spoilers for The Northman.The Northman, Robert Eggers’s new Viking epic, vibrates at a thrilling intensity for its entire runtime before culminating in a fittingly torqued final fight scene. After spending years on a quest for revenge, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) is ready to face down his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang), who is responsible for killing Amleth’s father and kidnapping his mother when he was a boy. By the time we’ve reached this point in the film, the viewer knows that the narrative is more complicated than we initially believed, but the two men are still fated to duel to the death. Fjölnir tells Amleth to meet him at the gates of Hel—the Norse underworld—and the next thing we know, the two of them are sword fighting fully nude by an active volcano. (A classic situation.)  Here, Eggers breaks down how that scene came together.When I went to Iceland for the first time, I thought, “If I made a Viking movie, it needs to end with a naked sword fight on a volcano, because that seems very elemental.”C.C. Smith, the stunt coordinator and fight choreographer, and I were talking about hypothetical styles of Viking fighting. This fight, unlike some of the other fights in the movies, is two elite warriors doing Viking fencing. So we could show some different fighting styles that maybe you haven't seen before.Claes and Alex were rehearsing for hours and hours and hours, because, as usual, it is mostly one, long unbroken take. Shock of the century for me. Alex says we shot for a week. I don't think it was that long, but that's what he says, so I'll go with his word. We found a quarry outside Belfast that looked more like Mount Hekla than you'd imagine, but still needed quite a bit of work.I was nervous, honestly, that it was going to work. But Craig Lathrop, the production designer, brought in a whole bunch of black earth to make it look more like Hekla. And then Sam Conway, the practical effects supervisor, brought in these gigantic flames and all this smoke and ash and cinders. The vast majority of all that stuff is practical.There are CGI cinders, and we had to have smoke, to make sure everyone's penises were hidden. But the vast majority of that stuff was all on set. The thing that I think makes it all the more realistic is that Jarin Blaschke, the cinematographer, and Seamus Lynch, the gaffer, made these rivers of lava, using programmed LEDs. The light is moving like lava. Then Angela Barson, our VFX supervisor, went to the recent eruption, and she took tons of photographic footage that they could base the CGI lava on.I saw a music video of some Icelandic band playing at the eruption, and it looks exactly like our final fight scene. If you can play a song, you can have a sword fight.The naked fighting is a stretch, I guess. Doing a ton of reading, tons of research, talking with historians, talking with archeologists, this is the conclusion that I came to: in the Viking age, nudity was a taboo thing. It was used in a ritual fashion, when you are going into liminal states. These berserker warriors who are fighting naked, or almost naked, they're using their human body as a threat. They're showing their courage and their bravery—that they're not going to get hurt by not wearing a shirt—but also, it's threatening to people to see this naked body. My thinking is that this fight between the uncle and the nephew that has been fated for 20 years, the duel itself becomes a ritual. And each man's nudity against each other is like a threat. [ad_2] Source link

[fiveforheaven-blog]

Thought Of The Day - Incarnations

This may just be me, but bear with the idea for a moment.

Lately, I have seen some discussion about what are being called “shards”. Short version, they’re shards or pieces of a great angel-- Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc.-- that have appearances or memories apart from the “original” angel. And there is a divided belief as to whether or not they’re “real”.

I have a proposition on this, and it’s a bit... heretical. Maybe problematic, depending on who you ask. But like I said, bear with me.

What if its similar to the concept of “paths” seen in gods?

The idea is that a god can incarnate into as many forms as they have names. Odin can be a god of wisdom in the form of Fjölnir, a war god in the form of Gunnblindi, or a trickster of sorts as Gizzur. With an estimated one-hundred and twenty-one names, Odin takes many, many forms.

Epithets were more common in ancient Greece, where supposedly the gods came in multiple forms and functions, and could even become separate beings to fulfill the roles if a prayer came from multiple mortals at once. So you could have, say Apollo Helius to bring light while Apollo Acesius healed the sick. Same god, same origin, different ability.

Now, in application to angels: I’ve heard of at least Gabriel having a handful of different titles. Hero of God, man of God, strength of God, etc. Using Greek as an example, there could be a Gabriel Apestalménos (Messenger Gabriel), a Gabriel Íroas (Gabriel the Hero), a Gabriel Ischyró (Gabriel the Strong)-- the possibilites are as endless as their names.

What if-- just what if-- it’s the same concept? What if each “name”, each title or epithet, can be administered to a different angel? What if it’s a form of honouring an angel?

Just a theory, though. What do you all think?

[sarahkrobertson]

TITLE OF SCULPTURE

name ideas based on giantess Norse mythology:

Grid: Grid was a giantess who saved Thor's life. She was aware of Loki's plans to get Thor killed at the hands of the giant Geirrod and sets out to help him by supplying him with a number of magical gifts. These gifts were: a girdle of might, a pair of magical iron gloves, and a magical wand.

Gerd: The giantess Gerd was very beautiful and her brilliant, naked arms illuminated air and sea. Freyr fell in love at first sight and the account of her wooing is given in the poem Skirnismál. She never wanted to marry Freyr, and refused his proposals (delivered through Skirnir, his messenger) even after he brought her eleven golden apples and Draupnir. Skirnir finally threatened to use Freyr's sword to cover the earth in ice and she agreed to marry Freyr. She became the mother of the mythic Swedish king Fjölnir.

Skaði: Skaði journeyed to Ásgard to avenge her father Þjazi, whom the gods had killed. She agreed that she would have that renounced if they allowed her to choose a husband among them and if they succeeded in making her laugh. The gods allowed her to choose a husband, but she had to choose him only from his feet; she choose Njord because his feet were so beautiful that she thought he was Baldr. Then Loki succeeded in making her laugh, so peace was made, and Odin made two stars from Þjazi's eyes.

After a while, she and her husband separated, because she loved the mountains (Þrymheimr), while he wanted to live near the sea (Noatun). The Ynglinga saga says that later she became wife of Odin, and had many sons by him.

Hyrrokin: At Baldr's funeral, his burning ship was set to sea by Hyrrokin, a giantess, who came riding on a wolf and gave the ship such a push that fire flashed from the rollers and all the earth shook.

Thokk: Upon Frigg's entreaties, delivered through the messenger Hermod, Hel promised to release Baldr from the underworld if all objects alive and dead would weep for him. And all did, except a giantess, Thokk, who refused to mourn the slain god. And thus Baldr had to remain in the underworld, not to emerge until after Ragnarok, when he and his brother Hod would be reconciled and rule the new Earth together with Thor's sons.