I had a horrible feeling that this film was going to howl at the
moon, although I admit that I’d watch Antonio Banderas read
a phone book. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is an
intelligent (albeit bloody and grisly) rendering of early
medieval life. Based on Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the
Dead (which I read when it first was published), it tells the
story of Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (Banderas), an Arab nobleman, who is
banished from Baghdad for lusting after some one else’s wife.
With his traveling companion/translator (Omar Sharif), he travels
as ambassador to the Eastern tribes. In the midst of a Tatar
attack, his entourage is backed up to a body of water, expecting
to be slaughtered, when the Tatars suddenly turn and ride away.
They saw a Viking ship approach and fled in fear. However, Ahmed,
in his capacity as ambassador, decides to meet with these fair-haired
Northmen. In the midst of festivities, a messenger arrives from
Hrothgar, the Northmen’s overlord, telling them of attacks
by the Wendols, a brutal band of half-human savages. They are
needed at home. The Northmen consult an oracle, who says that 13
warrirors are needed to battle the Wendols and that the 13th
warrior must be a foreigner. Guess who? So Ahmed goes with the
Northmen to do battle. (More of the plot later)
Continued....
Lest anyone think all of this is far-fetched, historically, it
was entirely possible for an Arab to meet up with Tatars AND
Vikings in a certain part of the world at a certain time. The
Northmen journeyed down the Dneiper River as far as
Constantinople, where they served as the elite palace guard to
the Emperor (the Varangian Guard). The Khanate of the Golden
Horde was nearby, and Europe was being plagued by barbarian
invasions throughout this time period (I would estimate around
the late 7th, early 8th century). The Arabs and Northmen
communicated in Latin (although for some reason, Ahmed does not
seem to speak it), while the Vikings talk among themselves in
Norse, which neither Arab can understand. When Ahmed goes off
with the Northmen, he does not understand them (the translator
having been left behind). No one miraculously speaks the same
language. Over the course of the journey north, Ahmed observes
& listens until he is able to understand his companions. This
is cleverly conveyed in the film by showing various conversations
in Norse with Ahmed intently listening; gradually, intelligible
words emerge from the conversations, then a phrase here and there,
until one of the Northmen insults Ahmed’s mother, thinking
he can’t understand what’s being said. Ahmed angrily
replies, startling the Vikings, who ask how he can understand
them. “I listen,” Ahmed replies. This piece of business
added to the credibility of the story.
The Vikings also wear a variety of armor – Byzantine, Roman,
chain mail, and leather/metal scale armor. At first this
disturbed me (as a history buff, I know more than the average
layman about arms and armor), but then I realized that this was
appropriate for the time. Of course, the Vikings would wear
whatever armor they could find, loot, etc. If they had been
Varangians, they would have access to Byzantine plate, Greek,
Roman, etc.
Back to the plot. The company sails north and finally reaches
their destination. They meet with Hrothgar & find out the
seriousness of the situation. The Wendols are supposedly beasts (resembling
bears) with seemingly supernatural powers, who like to decapitate
their victims and eat human flesh (whence the title, “Eaters
of the Dead”). When they attack the company, it is a brutal,
grisly, bloody fight with body parts flying around (not for the
squeamish or the kids). And oddly enough, they take their own
dead with them, leaving no bodies behind. Ahmed discovers the
reason for this the next time they attack. He also figures out
what the “fire dragon” (or “glow worm”) is
– hordes of Wendols riding down the mountain with torches).
The Northmen build walls around the settlement and wait for the
next onslaught. They don’t have long to wait. After the next
battle, the Vikings realize that they are greatly outnumbered and
that if they don’t do something else, they will all die. The
consult another old wise woman who tells them how to defeat the
Wendols. They must kill the mother and the leader, then the
Wendols will no longer fight. And Bulvei, the leader of the
Northmen, will be the instrument of that.
ATTENTION: SPOILER!!
Ahmed has discovered (upon killing one of the Wendols) that they
are merely painted men in bearskins, not beasts. The bearskins
make them seem to be powerful beasts and frighten their enemies.
The remaining company tracks the Wendols to a nearby valley, but
cannot figure out how to get to them to kill them. Ahmed provides
the solution when he asks how one would attack a bear in winter.
The Northmen realize that the Wendols live in caves and they find
the entrance and start on their revenge. This part of the film is
not for those with claustrophobia. Farther & farther they go
into the caves, silently killing the Wendols who get in their way.
At last, Bulvei finds the mother and in a vicious fight, kills
her, but she wounds him with a poisoned blade (or fingernail).
They escape and return to the settlement, knowing that the
Wendols will return to kill them in revenge for the mother.
The attack begins soon. But this time they know how to recognize
the leader (he’s wearing the bearskin with the horns).
Bulvei is dying, but staggers out to join the battle. In a last,
superhuman act, he does indeed kill the leader of the Wendols,
who when they realize what has happened, immediately retreat to
the hills and lay down their arms. The Northmen are victorious,
but Bulvei has died of his wounds. They give him a proper Viking
funeral, but are sad that he will not be remembered. Knowing that
Ahmed is literate and can write the account down, they ask him to
do so, that Bulvei’s memory can live on. He agrees and then
takes the ship back to his home and writes down the account.
Ibn Fahdlan was real. He DID live among the Vikings and he did
write down his account of his travels. Whether or not this was
the basis for Beowulf may be debatable, but it’s an
interesting story. Through the folk process perhaps Bulvei
becomes Beowulf, “Wendol” becomes “Grendal”
and the shamanic mother becomes Grendal’s mother. Even
Hrothgar figures in the epic. The timing is right.
As a rousing adventure, The 13th Warrior works. To the more
esoterically-minded (myself included), it works as an historical
story and an example of an epic’s basis in reality. And it
introduces us to one of the most interesting people of the early
Middle Ages, Ibn Fahdlan. There are some hunky, blonde (and red-haired)
guys in tunics for those who like that sort of thing. There’s
lots of action and swordplay (and those of us who saw last year’s
Mask of Zorro know that Banderas can ride a horse and sling a
sword with the best of them). There’s lots of blood and gore
and dirt that provide us with a glimpse of the Hobbesian
existence of the times – nasty, brutish, and short. Even the
women are dirty. This is before the high age of Scandinavian
culture.
The movie was filmed in British Columbia, substituting for
Scandinavia, and the scenery is breathtaking. And although the
ubiquitous O Fortuna from Carmina Burana is played in the
trailers, it is not used in the movie. The soundtrack is not
overpowering, thank goodness. Just for fun, see The 13th Warrior,
then rent The Norsemen, The Vikings, or some other Viking epic (like
the one with Richard Widmark, whose title escapes me) and compare.
As Stephen Hunter (my favorite film critic) said in his review,
The 13th Warrior is one of the summer’s guilty pleasures.
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