With The Northman currently raiding into theaters this weekend, many fans are giving quite positive reactions to the Viking film so far, with the one glaring flaw: there’s not enough Björk in it.
In the film, the pop singer — who pioneered genres by mixing trip-hop with electronica and art rock in the 1990s — plays the Seeress. According to the National Museum of Denmark, seeresses within Viking lore were said to possess prophetic powers, able to tell someone their future, and could even visit helpful spirits and gods by transporting their own soul through a song.
One fan explained that even though The Northman was in a genre they don’t normally enjoy, “Björk’s character was interesting.” But sadly, her screentime, in which she shares a scene with Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth, was quite short.
Björk wears an eclectic headdress in the film, which The Daily Beast reporter Laura Bradley suspected may have come from the singer’s own wardrobe, given her penchant for over-the-top fashion statements, such as that famous swan dress she wore to the 2001 Oscars.
One movie fan, apparently live-tweeting her experience from within a darkened movie theater, said they were just happy “watching Björk do Björk things in The Northman,” rather than watching German football.
Apparently, in at least one location of the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas, they even played Björk music videos and archival interviews before screening The Northman. At least one cinema proprietor knows who the real star of the film is.
Another fan noted, “I’m going for Björk only 😇.”
Even co-star Skarsgård gushed about fanboying out when he met Björk on set for the first time. The scene in question, which was featured in a trailer for the movie, features the Seeress creepily whispering to Amleth, “Remember for whom you shed your last teardrop.”
“Shooting a scene with Björk was probably the highlight of the entire shoot,” Skarsgård said in a recent IMDB Fan Q&A. “It was in a burnt-out barn with a full moon behind Björk’s head. It’s been 17 years since her last film. So the privilege of sharing that with her was a very humbling experience for sure.”
The Northman is in theaters now.
