Often, foreign movies are perceived strictly as arthouse fare, filled with heavy and ponderous themes. However, there’s just as much variety in world cinema as there is anywhere else. The Norwegian film Ragnarok screams old-fashioned Saturday matinee adventure from its every frame. While hardly original or groundbreaking, it is an enjoyable family flick that should entertain both the young and old.
Viking authority and archaeologist Sigurd Svendsen (Pål Sverre Hagen) is on the verge of a great discovery. Despite a disbelieving museum curator and group of investors, our bookish hero has translated runes that suggest a great discovery in remote Finnmark. This is the northernmost part of the country bordering the Russian border. Widowed and work-obsessed, the heartbroken lead decides to drag his less-than-enthused children Ragnhild (Maria Annette Tanderø Berglyd) and Brage (Julian Podolski) on the big trip. Once there, Sigurd and his professional compatriots Allan (Nicolai Cleve Broch), Leif (Bjørn Sundquist) and Elizabeth (Sofia Helin) unearth something both amazing and terrifying.
One can only hope that in an age where loud CGI robots destroy each other and are cut together with a hyper-fast editing style, young ones will still be interested in an effort like this. Certainly, there is plenty of action and a few computer generated effects. Yet, this is a film in which the excitement comes from discovering and searching simple things like a large and unexplored cave, or at its most dramatic, zip-lining across a lake. This is a lot of fun to watch as a person who remembers children’s films of the 80’s and one hopes that it won’t come across as quaint to today’s kids.
The relationships are nicely fleshed out with more attention paid to character than most titles of its ilk. This is particularly true of the father who seems to have buried himself in work to fill in for the absence of his late wife. While there aren’t any surprises story wise, one of the interesting twists the script offers is in the role of Elizabeth. All the characters do their part to help and save one another, but this woman is clearly the Indiana Jones-style trailblazer of the group. It’s a nice little flip on the routine formula that we still don’t see in typical Hollywood adventure films.
Despite a title that suggests an apocalypse, this is a sweet little low-key movie that imparts the bonds and importance of family. Over the course of its running time kids will be treated to a little bit of domestic drama, a small taste of adventuring through the remote wilderness, and a hint of something scary hidden in the darkness. Of course, it’s a family film so there’s little in the way of violence – characters are killed by a mysterious creature, but all of the potentially gruesome deaths are kept off-screen.
The overwhelming feeling while watching Ragnarok is that of nostalgia. It’s a small family film that will appeal most to children not spoiled by the likes of a few recent Hollywood franchises. It might even make for a good introduction for youngsters into the world of foreign films and subtitles. Sure, on a certain level this flick may seem a little old-fashioned, but long ago it worked for this reviewer. Who says it can’t be fun for today’s kids too?
Note: This film will be available as a VOD title on August 15th, 2014.