SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

SEVERED WAYS has an unusual premise and an occasionally intriguing artistic approach. Its story of two abandoned Vikings trying to reach Greenland includes Christian monks, a church established for Indians, and a conflict between pagan hostility and the Christian message.

But the film is extremely slow, episodic, and difficult. Long scenes show men catching fish, building huts, and cutting down trees in nearly real time. Shaky camera work, minimal dialogue, grunts, violence, graphic bodily material, and sexual violence make this a demanding watch. The Christian material is also troubling because the monks and their church are destroyed, leaving the impression that paganism triumphs.

The practical answer: wait for home if you are a discerning adult with a strong interest in experimental cinema; families and young viewers should choose something else.

In the year 1007, two Viking scouts, Orn and Volnard, survive after their captain abandons them in North America following a massacre by American Indians. They must find a way north toward Greenland.

Their difficult journey brings attacks, isolation, and an encounter with two Irish monks left behind by an earlier Viking expedition. The monks have established a church for the Indians, placing the pagan Vikings in direct conflict with Christianity.

Two stars means SEVERED WAYS has a genuinely intriguing idea and an arty approach, but its execution will challenge most viewers.

The film is divided into chapters like the Vinland Sagas. Its dialogue is minimal, with only a few lines, grunts, and slow action. The directing is languid, the camera work is shaky, and the music appears only periodically. Lengthy scenes of fishing, hut-building, and tree-cutting are filmed almost in real time. The result is highly episodic and often tedious, although the unusual filmmaking approach has some interest.

Anyone expecting an action-adventure movie is likely to be disappointed.

SEVERED WAYS presents a strong pagan worldview. The Vikings are heathens who hate Christians, and Christianity is treated as something to oppose. The film does include positive Christian content: one monk reads the Bible to Volnard, washes his feet, and represents a message that interests him.

Still, the overall direction is troubling. A Christian monk is killed, the church is destroyed, and the Cross is destroyed. Because the Christian characters and their church are removed while the pagan Vikings remain, the film seems to suggest that heathenism triumphs. The opening title, “Heathen Productions,” reinforces that impression.

The movie therefore contains both negative and positive Christian content, but its worldview is not a biblical one. It gives paganism the final visual victory while leaving Christian witness vulnerable and defeated. Scripture offers a different hope: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

SEVERED WAYS is an unusual, sometimes intriguing experiment, but its slow pace, disturbing content, and pagan outlook make it unsuitable for families. Discerning adults who value experimental filmmaking may find something to consider at home. For everyone else, choose a safer alternative.

WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY.