VALHALLA RISING: Mads Mikkelsen Week at FOMO Cinema
Friday 10. July at 19:00 - 20:33
FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi
There are movie stars, there are character actors, and then there is Mads Mikkelsen. Over three decades he has moved effortlessly between Copenhagen gangsters, priests, teachers, cannibals, Vikings, alcoholics, spies, surgeons and at least one man who cooks human beings for a living.
He has worked with Nicolas Winding Refn, Thomas Vinterberg, Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen and some of the biggest directors in international cinema, balancing arthouse cinema with global blockbusters.
For one week, FOMO is tracing that journey across eleven films. We'll start in the criminal underworld of 1990s Copenhagen, move through the dark comedies that helped define modern Danish cinema, and finish with the performances that transformed Mikkelsen into one of the defining screen presences of his generation.
Some of these films are masterpieces. Some are cult oddities. Many are both. Welcome to MADSNESS at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi
VALHALLA RISING
Nicolas Winding Refn | 2009 | Denmark / United Kingdom | 1h33m | English with English subtitles
By this point in the week we've already met gangster Mads, sad Mads, cannibal Mads and fat Mads. VALHALLA RISING gives us perhaps the most intimidating incarnation of all: ripped Mads.
I've never been entirely sure whether VALHALLA RISING is a Viking film, an art film or a horror film. Mads Mikkelsen plays One-Eye, a mute warrior with supernatural abilities who escapes captivity and joins a group of Norse crusaders travelling towards the Holy Land. Things don't go according to plan. And that's about as much plot as I'm willing to share!
Released between BRONSON and DRIVE, the film marked the point where Nicolas Winding Refn abandoned realism completely and began moving towards the hypnotic, dreamlike style that would later define much of his career. Mads says almost nothing for the entire runtime. Few actors have ever been better at communicating through silence, stillness and the occasional act of extraordinary violence.
Some people watch VALHALLA RISING and see a meditation on religion, colonialism and masculinity. Some see an existential journey through purgatory. Some see ninety minutes of mud, blood and sweat. VALHALLA RISING remains one of the most singular and uncompromising films Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolas Winding Refn have ever made.
I don't know whether you'll love it as much as I do, but I can guarantee you won't forget it.
FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 02:00, serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol from outside allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!
LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
