I finally got round to seeing the Best Animated Film Oscar winner and really enjoyed it. So now it\u2019s time to compare it to another film I really enjoyed. Valhalla Rising. Don\u2019t shake your head now, there are more similarities between these guys than you might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
I liked Flow a lot, and I like Valhalla Rising a lot. But which is better? There\u2019s only one way to find out. FIIIGGHHT! If you didn\u2019t get the Harry Hill\u2019s TV Burp reference there, then…shame on you. Anyway, it\u2019s time to look at a few questions to have a sense of what film has what. And what would be helpful at this point is a kind of grid thing to make things look more visually appealing\/understandable. But I don\u2019t think WordPress has anything like that. Well, apparently it does, after doing a quick check, but I can\u2019t work out how to use it right now. It is what it is. So, some questions. Oh, and F = Flow, while VR = Valhalla Rising<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– What is the name of the central character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = No name VR = No name<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, neither have an actual name. Although Mads Mickelsen\u2019s monolith (alliteration, hooray) is technically named One-Eye by the boy, he has no official name. Likewise for Flow\u2019s titular tabby (more alliteration, woo).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– How many words are spoken by the central character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = 0 VR = 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a single word. Not one. Both directors use music and imagery to let the story tell itself. None of the cat\u2019s animal friends say anything either. And sure, some of Valhalla\u2019s surrounding characters say a bit, but not that much. You\u2019d better get ready and hunker down for some non-verbal storytelling. Awww yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Does the film feature a gargantuan statue of the main character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = Yes VR = Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, it\u2019s not really clear if that huge cat statue which the cat sits on is modelled on that particular cat (confusing sentence? Yes), but it\u2019s definitely a big cat statue. And Valhalla also features two creepy heads of One-Eye at one point in the film, emphasising the character\u2019s god-like omnipotence. Cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Is there a traditional plot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = No VR = No<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s that? You like your expository dialogues with plenty of description? Tough shit, you\u2019ll get none of that coddling tomfoolery around here. You\u2019ll sit down on your seat and enjoy what you\u2019re watching, goshdarnit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
– What is the film\u2019s running time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = 84 mins VR = 90 mins<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Short and sweet on both counts. Or perhaps bloody and bitter, in the case of Valhalla. Flow has a pretty short running time, which is standard for a film aimed at a young audience. It\u2019s an understatement to say that Valhalla is really not a film aimed at the tykes. It is short, though. I mean, if you see the name Nicolas Winding Refn on any particular film, you know that joint\u2019s gonna be a heavy 18 (the guy hasn\u2019t directed any flick below that age rating, as far as I\u2019m aware).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Are a group of individuals travelling towards a sacred land?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = Yes VR = Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The animals in Flow don\u2019t exactly vocalise this, but imagery of a glowing area in the distance definitely implies that they\u2019re trying to seek refuge in a nice, shiny place that\u2019s unharmed by destruction. One of the Christian leaders says that they\u2019re looking for the Holy Land, and decides to take One-Eye with him on his quest (bad idea, bud).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Does this plan go well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = No VR = Also No<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mean, if those plans went well, there wouldn\u2019t be much of a film, right? You\u2019ve got to inject some jeopardy into the equation to make your audience tense. In the case of a U-rated film, well, there\u2019s a bit of bad weather and such like. In Valhalla, I guess there\u2019s also some bad weather, but there\u2019s also a load of violence too. Awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Is there a boat involved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = Yes VR = Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a lot of sea travel involved in both films, so you\u2019re gonna need a boat. Not a bigger boat, necessarily, Spielberg, but y\u2019know, a boat of some kind. The animals of flow experience plenty of tight situations on their journey as arguments break out and weather attacks their ship. As for Valhalla, there\u2019s a trippy boat scene in weird mist where all the men get tense and one man tries to kill the boy. Again, bad idea bud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Is anyone killed on the boat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = No VR = Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll be bowled over to learn that, yes, someone is indeed killed on that book in Refn\u2019s film. Wow. Don\u2019t mess with the boy, or One-Eye\u2019s gonna make you regret it. As for Flow? No, don\u2019t be silly, this is a kid\u2019s film we\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Is there a visually striking sacrifice scene in the film\u2019s final act?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
F = Yes VR = Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, now you mention it, there is. But, yeah, spoilers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There you go, ten questions asked. Who\u2019s the winner, you say? Well, no-one. There\u2019s never a clear cut winner in Harry Hill\u2019s TV Burp, so there won\u2019t be one here. \u2018Dem\u2019s the breaks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I finally got round to seeing the Best Animated Film Oscar winner and really enjoyed it. So now it\u2019s time to compare it to another film I really enjoyed. Valhalla Rising. Don\u2019t shake your head now, there are more similarities between these guys than you might think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1722"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1734,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions\/1734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}