Not quite like they used to make them, but satisfying (Spoilers!)

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 1999)

The first thing you experience is a slight disorientation. This looks like the great Viking adventures of happy memory, yet it is definitely different, and not only because of the European voices. One wonders why?
Happily, if this was indeed a troubled production, none of it translates to the screen. It looks and plays like a luxury adventure. Some things are marvellously dealt with, like the sequence from Ahmahd needing to have everything translated for him to his gradual understanding and then speaking the lingo, and only then are we firmly in english-speaking territory. I've never seen anything to rival this. Or Ahmahd's progression from just tagging along to taking an active part in the chase. And we never lose the sense that he is a stranger among these people who are never completely explained or understood.
There are gaps in the narrative, like what happened to the king's son, who vanishes without a trace? Where do these cave-dwelling Wendul keep such large herds of horses? What exactly is the relation between Buliwyf and the King and Queen? But they do not really detract from the enjoyment of the lush scenery and the convincing costumes. And the people look as if they actually belong in this landscape...
It is telling, however, that all the main parts in this movie are played by Europeans or recent immigrants to Hollywood. There was a time when this kind of film was a Hollywood staple, and when there were stars and actors who could play them. Nowadays you would be hard put to cast such a medieval yarn with young actors from the States (and the proposals for the Lord of the Rings fill you with dismay), because they all look so dreadfully 20th century and the very idea of anyone in tunic and hose or chainmail makes you gag. They simply can't convince us that they know what they're doing - some of them look uncomfortable in suits, come to that. It goes hand in hand with not being able to play anything but Americans because they can't handle the accents or, God forbid, foreign languages. The rest of the world watches US movies. Sometimes we like them, but we rarely respect them. Yet we would like to, because theirs is the only globally viable industry. Is that truly a sound business relationship?