SEVERED WAYS:
 THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
by debbie lynn elias
A real competitor in the Narrative Competition and for a $50,000 cash prize is SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.   Slightly off-beat and definitely not what one would expect with a Viking movie, producer/writer/editor/actor and first time feature director Tony Stone brings us a rather unique perspective of the coming to America by Vikings in 1007 AD.   Shot over the course of almost 4 years (although it is not a 4 year time span in the film) using only natural lighting from the sun, the moon and fire, the results are at times magical.
Obviously one with a fertile imagination, Tony Stone creates a fictional story drawn from the actual Vineland Sagas, stories which tell the tale of Viking and Norse exploration of the New World starting with Lief Ericson.  A group of Vikings have landed at Vinland.  But for Orn and Volnard who have been sent inland to investigate flora, fauna, potential food sources, potential enemies, the rest of the expeditionary party has remained along the rugged coastline.  Unfortunately, a little meeting between the Vikings and the Skraeling, as the Vikings refer to North American Indians, goes a little awry, leaving the beach littered with dead Vikings and Orn and Volnard, abandoned by their fellow survivors.
Realizing they have only each other on which to reply for survival, the two head north into the forest.  They also realize enemies, violent enemies are lurking.    With brute strength we watch them make camp by chopping down trees, make spears to fish, gather berries and nuts, living by their wits and basic survival skills.  The work is hard, but exposure to the elements and their enemies is harder.
As they travel, they long for home and relive memories of days gone by and particularly Volnard who is haunted by the killing of his sister’s Christian boyfriend.  Needless to say, when they come upon a pair of monks, hostilities mount as at that time Christians were enslaved by Norse each viewing the other as pagan.  Orn immediately kills one of the monks, brutally hacking him to death with his axe, while Volnard feeling guilt from his memories of prior acts, lets the other monk run free.  This guilt, however, doesn’t stop him from helping Orn to burn down the church.
During their ongoing journey, Volnard becomes more interested in the monk and his teachings, ultimately leaving Orn alone while Volnard pursues his spirituality.   Angered at being left alone and having to do everything for himself, Orn senses he is being watched.  He is.  By a Skraeling.  Baiting Orn with blackberries laced with a narcotic, Orn falls unconscious and is taken away from the Skraeling where he is tied up and ultimately raped by the female Skraeling while still in his drugged state.  Left alone and alive, Orn ultimately frees himself and sets out to find the double-crossing Volnard.   In Orn’s mind, were it not for Volnard leaving him, he would never have been taken captive.
Twists and turns take place as the journey continues and tempers flare and all the while the Skraeling are never far away.
Lensing took place during two Falls and one Winter in the beautiful forests and seaside of Maine and Vermont, as well as the Norse settlement of L’Aanse aux Meadows.  Using the elements and nature to his advantage, what is captured on film is actually man in survival mode.  Tony Stone as Ord and Fiore Tedesco as Volnard, thanks to the use of  anthropological resources, actually construct by hand for the camera, structures that are historically accurate and built to the specifications of the era.  The tools used are as those used by the Vikings when they landed at New Foundland.  The manner of dress, the mode of fishing by the two - all are accurate.   Even the language is authentic as the dialogue is Old Norse and Abenaki.  The Abenaki were the Indian tribe populating that part of North America in 1000 A.D.
If there was a single award at LAFF for Best Cinematography, it would go to Nathan Corbin and Damien Pais, no questions asked.  The cinematography is flawlessly exquisite.
What I find particularly enthralling and touching is that the majority of the film was shot on land owned by Stone’s family.  As a boy, he found great solace in these woods and would himself create imaginary tales as he ran in and out of the woods with his friends building forts, tree houses, playing war.  I can relate.   I did the same things along with my brothers in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey where my grandparents lived.  I knew the woods like the back of my hand.  Tony Stone knows his woods the same way.  It’s only fitting that something that is such a part of him would be such a vital part to his first feature film.
SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA screens Friday, June 22 at 9:45 p.m. at the Landmark’s Regent and Monday, June 25 at 4:00 p.m. at the Billy Wilder Theater.