Gåten Ragnarok

Plot

When the archaeologist Sigurd Swenson sets off in search of evidence to support the story of Ragnarok, the end of the world in Norse mythology, he decides to form an expedition with two colleagues and his two kids. This adventure leads them to Finnmark in the Northern part of Norway, and into a "no man's land" between Russia and Norway, where no one has set foot since ancient times. Old runes unfold new meanings, revealing a truth bigger and more spectacular than ever expected.

Sigurd's presentation for new project funding falls flat, causing him to miss daughter Ragnhild's end-of-school singing recital. At home that night his co-worker Allan brings in a stone tablet they interpret as a map of an island in a lake, though they can't translate all of it. He decides to spend the summer vacation doing fieldwork and brings his children Ragnhild and Brage with him. When Sigurd et al. land in Finnmark they meet up with Allan's field partner Elisabeth and hired guide Leif and have to hike for days, crossing the old WWII boundary with Russia. They make a raft and get over to the small island "Eye of Odin" without incident. The party splits up, the children wandering off in boredom and exploration. Ragnhild finds more Russian leftovers and Brage finds a cave. The party all descends into the cave and start finding Viking relics. Brage finds an interesting rock in the shallow water and stows it in his rucksack for later. Leif is unimpressed with Sigurd's plan to turn the pieces over to a museum in Oslo and takes them at gunpoint, stranding the rest in the cave. As he is paddling back across the lake in the party's raft he gets taken from below by an un-visaged thing. Elisabeth climbs up the cave wall and re-establishes the ropes so the others can escape the cave too. They sleep in a bunker that Ragnhild found only for the men to re-descend the cave to look for more pieces. They discover the cave isn't a hidey hole for treasure but a graveyard for a giant pebble-skinned sea serpent that the Vikings likely used as a format for their dragon-prowed ships. This causes them to reassess their earlier opinion, that the stone tablet is not in fact a map but a warning. Meanwhile, Brage's "rock" is shown to be a hatching egg for the same sea serpent family. In fright they capture it in an old metal box and latch it in. The infant serpent's squeals transmit down the bunker's cable into the water and alert the adult serpent who hauls the bunker into the lake, trying to get to the baby. Elisabeth and the children escape out the rear with some assistance, the box inadvertently coming with them. Allan finds the box as he gathers tools for their escape from the island and unfortunately decides to bring it along as the proof he needs after six years of field work, hiding the fact from the rest of the group. While they shoot one sea serpent in order to escape the lake, four more surface and follow the infant's sounds. They find that the serpents are not exclusively water bound as they are followed onto dry land. The party attempts to escape through an underground bunker system by starting the faulty electrical system and find a ceiling door out. Allan is first through the door but then starts to act like the late Leif, demanding that the box be handed up to him before he passes down the rope. Before this comes to pass however, he is taken by the serpents and one crashes down into the bunker tunnels to continue the search. The children are able to run but Elisabeth and Sigurd are knocked out cold. He comes to as the serpent is cornering his children and figures to try and return the baby serpent. The sound of the baby's squeals distracts the adult from the children and it accepts the infant serpent from Sigurd, slithering off without further harm. The remaining party of four are able to leave and travel back home without further incident.

Cast

Release

The film was released on the 8 October 2013.

Magnolia Pictures acquired the distribution rights for North America, which already has experience in distributing Norwegian films in the Americas as they distributed the 2011 film Head Hunters.

Critical response

After a screening at Fantastic Fest the film was received positively.

The website Twitch Film said: "It adds up to a fun family adventure, with Norwegian style and a welcome edge, something even Indiana Jones in his prime could never quite achieve".