Rating: B-
Dir: Mikael Håfström
Star: Claes Bang, Emily Beecham, Sophie Cookson, Alba August
The title isn’t cinematic hyperbole. It’s the name of an actual historical event – like, with a Wikipedia page and everything! In 1520, the Danish King Christian II occupied the Swedish capital, accused a large number of Swedish leaders of heresy, and had them executed. It forms the basis for this film here, though historical accuracy is not a strong suit. This is entirely deliberate, confirmed by an early caption which boldly states, “A great deal of this actually happened.” It probably helps if you think of this as a Scandinavian version of A Knight’s Tale. It shares a similar fast and loose approach to the specifics of history (not least the accents), the better to resonate with a modern audience.
While it may not work entirely, I dig the vibe, and the general approach. It’s very much an ensemble cast, led by Bang as King Christian II, and Beecham as Swedish ruler Christina Gyllenstierna, who takes charge after the death of her husband. Providing strong support is the queen’s cousin Anne Eriksson (Cookson), and her mute foster sister Freja (August), who are seeking revenge after their family was slaughtered by Danish soldiers on Anne’s wedding day. You may well be distracted by the recognizable faces, not limited to Beecham. Ulrich Thomsen (Banshee) plays a bishop, and Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) is Freja’s mother. Yeah, throw in that it’s entirely in English, and it’s about as authentically Scandinavian as an Abba tribute show.
That said, I still enjoyed it, especially the Anne and Freya thread. It plays like a medieval version of Kill Bill, down to the list which the sisters cross names off, as they get dispatched. This leads to some nice deaths, including one by icicle, and the first example of Chekhov’s hairpin I’ve seen. Other elements aren’t quite as successful. At two and a half hours, it would have benefited from being less stuffed, and the viewer is required to keep track of a few too many hairy men with grudges. Though there is still a good deal of energy here, and the makers never let the complexities of the historical scenario get in the way of being entertaining.
Because that’s the point here. Taking this seriously – as some reviews apparently have done – would be an embarrassing mistake. This is closer to something like Sisu, using a historical backdrop of dubious accuracy to roll out a range of larger than life characters killing each other. [Oddly, there was a different film on the topic announced back in 2021, though nothing seems to have come of it] Bloodbath perhaps does a better job of being Tarantino than Tarantino. Or a somewhat less annoying one at least, though there are still scenes where characters stand around, flapping their lips to no real purpose. But if other historical events end up turned into action movies like this, I would not mind. Hard to think of one with such a catchy name, though the Erfurt Latrine Disaster may come close…