The Last Duel

Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Ridley Scott

Screenplay:  Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener, based on the book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager

Starring:  Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Harriet Walter, Ben Affleck

Running Time:  153 minutes

Genre:  Historical drama

France, the late 1300s:  Lady Marguerite de Carrouges (Comer) accuses her husband's former best friend Jacques Le Gris (Driver) of raping her.  Her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges (Damon), challenges le Gris to trial by combat, the last legally sanctioned duel in French history.  However, if Sir Jean loses the duel, not only will he be killed in combat, but Lady Marguerite will also be burned to death.  The film details the events leading up to the duel from the perspectives of Sir Jean, Jacques le Gris and Lady Marguerite.

This is a frustrating film because at it's best it is very good, but it has it's moments of extreme silliness.  The main problem is several of the roles are miscast:  Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck are all good actors but they are just not convincing as medieval French knights.  Affleck, as Count Pierre, Le Gris' patron and friend, in particular plays it like he's in an episode of Blackadder at times.  Jodie Comer however is fantastic as Lady Marguerite, the only character in the film who is in any way sympathetic, and Harriet Walter is good as Sir Jean's mother who hates her daughter in law.  The film looks spectacular, Ridley Scott shows his skill at handling historical epics, and the brutal action scenes are filmed with real dynamism.  The duel itself is savagely intense, and graphically violent.  The film utilises a structure where we are given three different perspectives on the events, and the film does point out who is telling the truth.  We see the friendship of Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris and it's subsequent disintegration, and the troubled relationship between Jean de Carrouges and Lady Marguerite.  The film shows the same events played out in different ways from different perspectives.  Sir Jean sees himself as a brave and noble knight, fighting for what is rightfully his, however others see him as a cruel, brutal bully and a fool.  Jacque Le Gris sees himself as an intelligent, romantic hero, however others see him as an opportunistic sycophant.  Lady Marguerite is caught in the middle, seen as little more than property.  When she tells her husband about the rape, he sees it as an insult to him, and Lady Marguerite's feelings don't really seem to come into it.  When Jacques le Gris goes to the church to defend himself against the charge, he is told that rape is seen as a crime of property, against the woman's husband or father. The rape sequence is brutal, and it is shown twice, from Le Gris and Marguerite's points of view.  The actual events are the same, even in Le Gris' version it is still an obvious rape, but he believes that she loves him really, so what he did was justified, while for Marguerite it is a brutal violation.  The film does discuss the ghastly treatment of women at the time, but not as much as it might have done.  It was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who won an Academy Award for their previous screenplay Good Will Hunting (1997), with acclaimed writer/director Nicole Holofcener who wrote the scenes for Lady Marguerite, and based on a 2004 book by Eric Jager.  While the film has problems with an inconsistent tone, moving between macho, blood and thunder epic, medieval court politics and dark feminist drama, and there are issues with the casting, it is still worth seeing.  The three part structure works well and the film is never less than interesting.

   Adam Driver and Matt Damon in The Last Duel

Sebastiane

Year of Release:  1976

Director:  Derek Jarman and Paul Humfress

Screenplay:  Derek Jarman, Paul Humfress and James Whaley

Starring:  Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Richard Warwick, Neil Kennedy

Running Time:  85 minutes

Genre:  Historical drama

Third Century AD:  Sebastian (Treviglio) is one of the Praetorian Guards for Emperor Diocletian (Robert Medley).  When he intervenes to stop a servant form being strangled by one of the Emperor's bodyguards, Sebastian is reduced in rank to private and exiled to a remote coastal garrison.  Sebastian's religious faith and pacifism, not to mention his celibacy, incense his commanding officer Severus (James), who becomes increasingly obsessed with Sebastian, with tragic results.

Inspired by the life and death of early Christian martyr Saint Sebastian, this homoerotic fantasia, is starling, sexy and more than a little dull.  Despite sharing a co-directing credit with Paul Humfress, the film opens with the title "Derek Jarman's Film", and this is how it is seen today.  Beginning his career in the film industry as a set designer (most notably for the Ken Russell film The Devils (1971)) Sebastiane marked Jarman's directorial debut, and he would go on to become a notable name in British independent film throughout the 1980s and early '90s.  The male gaze has become increasingly controversial, but this film celebrates the gay male gaze.  Filmed under the blazing Sardinian sun, the film mostly consists of bronzed, sweaty men, either naked or mostly naked lolling around on the rocks, wrestling, hitting each other, washing or caressing each other in languorous slow motion.  Despite being successful, the film was controversial for it's copious nudity (when asked about the nudity Jarman responded "we couldn't afford costumes") and also for the fact that, despite being a British film, the dialogue is entirely in Latin.  The acting is variable, with many of the cast seemingly chosen more for their looks than their acting ability, it's an important film in the history of gay cinema.  While it's a powerful film, with some memorable images, if you're not tuned into Jarman and Humfress' brand of homoeroticism, you may find it a long slog.

Richard Warwick and Leonardo Treviglio in Sebastiane 

The Duellists

Year of Release:  1977
Director:  Ridley Scott
Screenplay:  Gerald Vaughan-Hughes, based on the short story "The Duel" by Joseph Conrad
Starring:  Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney, Edward Fox, Cristina Rains, Tom Conti
Running Time:  100 minutes
Genre:  Historical drama

Strasbourg, 1800:  French soldiers Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud (Keitel) and Lieutenant Armand d'Hubert (Carradine) become embroiled in a quarrel, when Feraud feels insulted after d'Hubert interrupts his visit to a prominent local woman (Jenny Runacre) with an unpleasant message from their superiors.  A keen duellist, Feraud challenges d'Hubert to a duel, which leads to a succession of conflicts fought over years.

This was the feature debut from director Ridley Scott, who would go on to become one of the world's foremost filmmakers.  This is a visually striking film, full of breathtaking images, with characters often posed in stately tableaux which make it look like a nineteenth century painting come to life.  It takes place over  a period of fifteen years in a number of different countries and is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars.  The focus is always on the drama between these two men:  d'Hubert is a charming, gallant hero who just wants to settle the thing and stop Feraud haunting him all the time.  Feraud, on the other hand, is presented as a boorish, obsessive, violent pig who wants to kill d'Hubert really over nothing.  With it's elegantly composed images, the film does at times feel too stately.  The biggest problem in the movie, however, are Keith Carradine, and particularly Harvey Keitel, who just do not convince as nineteenth century French soldiers.  Carradine looks the part, but every time he and, especially, Keitel open their mouths, the carefully constructed illusion of the 1800s is shattered.  That being said, this is a good film.  The story is interesting, if never particularly affecting, it's stunning to look at and it does have a real epic sweep to it.

Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine are The Duellists

All Is True

Year of Release:  2018

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Ben Elton

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellan

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Genre:  Biography, drama

In 1613, the Globe Theatre burns down due to an accident during a performance of William Shakespeare's play Henry VIII (also known as All Is True).  Retiring from writing, Shakespeare returns home to Stratford-upon-Avon, and his wife Anne (Dench) and daughters Susanna (Wilson) and Judith (Wilder), as well as the memory of his deceased son, Hamnet.

This low-key, melancholy film takes place over the last three years of Shakespeare's life.  It's written by Ben Elton, who is best known for comedy such as the Blackadder series (1986-1989) and Upstart Crow (2016-current), which is also about Shakespeare and covers some of the same territory as All Is True.  However this is completely different in tone, and is definitely not a comedy.  The film deals with the difficulty of being close to a genius, it seems to be that Shakespeare is so used to putting words in characters mouths, he can't really deal with real people who don't always do what he would like them to do.  The acting is great, particularly from Branagh, and there is a short but memorable appearance by Ian McKellan as Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare dedicated several sonnets and other poems.  Powerful, and at times deeply moving, this is certainly worth more attention that it has received.

Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Lydia Wilson and Kathryn Wilder in All Is True

         

The Devils

Year of Release:  1971
Director:  Ken Russell
Screenplay:  Ken Russell, based on the book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and the play The Devils by John Whiting
Starring:  Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrien, Gemma Jones,
Running Time:  103 minutes (original cut) and 117 minutes (restored cut)
Genre:  Drama, historical, horror

In 17th Century France, a convent of nuns in the small provincial town of Loudun, led by the hunchbacked, deeply repressed Sister Jeanne (Redgrave), fall victim to a bizarre hysteria, which is blamed on demonic possession.  The town's charismatic but controversial priest Urbain Grandier (Reed) is blamed, as the town falls victim to horrific mass exorcisms and a hysterical witch hunt, all of which is being carefully orchestrated by the highest powers in the land.

This is probably the most controversial film in writer/director Ken Russell's controversial career.  The film has been celebrated, despised and censored, and in fact a full uncensored cut of the film has never been released.  Given the film's lurid and still shocking violence and sexual imagery, it's easy to overlook the fact that it is a powerful and important piece of work, which has valid point to make about belief and the abuse of power.  It's based on true events that happened in Loudun in  1634, and it is notable that in the film the "possessions" are not supernatural, but are the product of Sister Jeanne's obsession with Grandier  and then whipped up by the state who want to discredit Grandier so they can demolish Loudun's protective walls.  The film's religious themes have proven problematic for censors, but there are deeply spiritual moments in the film (Russell was a practicing  Roman Catholic and he considered the film his "most Catholic" work).  The film is visually striking, the impressive sets were designed by future film director Derek Jarman.  There are times when the film goes so far over the top it just becomes ridiculous, with scenes of nuns rolling their eyes and lolling their tongues to sounds of bells, whistles and birds, as well as the insane exorcist (and David Bowie look-a-like) played by Michael Gothard and King Louis XIII (Graham Armitage) having shooting parties where the targets are people dressed as blackbirds.
This is one of those films which you will either hate or love but which you will not be able to easily forget.

Vanessa Redgrave in The Devils     

First Man

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  Damien Chazelle
Screenplay:  Josh Singer, based on the book First Man:  The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen
Starring:  Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas,
Running Time:  138 minutes
Genre: Drama, historical, biography,

This film tells the story of Neil Armstrong (Gosling) and the first manned mission to the Moon.  It opens in 1961 where Armstrong is a test pilot and culminates with the historical mission in July 1969.  Along the way it deals with Armstrong's relationship with his wife, Janet (Foy), and the personal and professional sacrifices and trials that were made on the way to the Moon.

Everyone is familiar with the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, the first step on the Moon is one of the most iconic images of all time, and the line "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," is one of the best known quotes in the world.  This film shows just how risky and dangerous it was.  Basically the astronauts were sitting in a tiny tin can on top of a missile, all of which was pretty much handmade at the time.  The film opens with Armstrong in the middle of a test flight, bouncing off the edge of the atmosphere, shot in fast, almost impressionistic images, from Armstrong's point of view wit constant rattling and roaring.  It's in the aerial and spaceflight sequences where the film soars (no pun intended), exciting, visceral with a genuine sense of wonder.  It captures the excitement of spaceflight and exploration, a time which is pretty much gone now, and it's probably as close as you will ever get to being in a space capsule.  The film depicts the training, and the sometimes fatal missteps along the way to the mission.   It also explores Armstrong's personal life.  Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong as a taciturn, emotionally distant man, it's hinted that he is deeply depressed following the death of his daughter.  As Janet Armstrong, Claire Foy carries the emotional heft of the film.  Having already buried a daughter, and seeing many of her friends and neighbours lose their husbands to the space program, she is very well aware of the risks involved and frustrated that Neil is so casual about it.  In one scene, she forces him to sit down and tell his kids that he may not come back, which he does as if he is at a board meeting.
This is a great film, and needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) in First Man 

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Year of Release:  1972
Director:  Werner Herzog
Screenplay:  Werner Herzog
Starring:  Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Ruy Guerra, Del Negro
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre:  Historical adventure

In the year 1560 a large number of Spanish conquistadors, lead by Gonzalo Pizarro (Alejandro Repulles), and their captives, descend from the Andes into the Amazon jungle in search of the fabled El Dorado, the City of Gold.  Finding their way blocked by a fast-flowing river, Pizarro sends a scouting party downstream to find supplies.  Struggling through the harsh jungle conditions, flooding, hostile natives and a lack of food and supplies, their morale and sanity break down, as the group's second-in-command Don Lope de Aguirre (Kinski) becomes increasingly paranoid and plots a violent rebellion.

This is a mesmerizing film, full of memorable images from the opening shots of the procession in single file descending the mist-shrouded Andes, to the hallucinatory closing frames.  Shot entirely on location with a low budget, the production was beset by problems, not least of which were Herzogs frequent clashes with the famously mercurial Kinski, reports of which have entered cinema lore.  This is an intensely physical film, the muggy, humid atmosphere almost seems to radiate out of the screen.  This is a story of a mad dreamer with an all-consuming obsession (a favourite theme of Herzog's).  At times it takes on the qualities of a fable, even though it sometimes feels almost like a documentary.  Above it all there is the star turn of Klaus Kinski, who appears at the start of the film as a man already close to the edge, with his bulging icy blue eyes and twisted stance, seemingly forever buffeted by winds no-one else can sense, he owns the film, alternately ranting and raging at his men, or tender towards his daughter (Cecilia Rivera), who accompanies the party.  The film is very loosely based on a historical character, although most of the characters and plot details are fictional.            
Everything about the film has a hauntingly strange quality, which sometimes becomes almost surreal, partly due to the film's eerie, dreamlike score from the band Popol Vue.

 Klaus Kinski is Aguirre, the Wrath of God

The Seventh Seal

Year: 1957
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Screenplay: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe, Bengt Ekerot, Inga Landgre
Running Time: 92 minutes
Genre: Drama, period, religion, allegory

Summary: A medieval knight, Antonius Block (von Sydow), and his cynical squire, Jons (Bjornstrand), return home to Sweden from the Crusades. Disillusioned and suffering a crisis of faith after what he has experienced and witnessed, Block encounters Death (Ekerot) on the shore. Death says that he has come for Block. However Block does not want to go until he has found some kind of meaning to life and concrete evidence of the existence of God, and so he challenges Death to a game of Chess. As the game progresses, Block and Jons travel through a country ravaged by the Black Death (the bubonic plague) and in the grip of religious fervor. Along the way Block meets, among others, a family of actors one of whom, Jof (Poppe), has mystical visions and a witch (Maud Hansson) who is condemned to death, as he searches for answers to his questions.

Opinions: This film is arguably the best known work from celebrated Swedish writer and director Ingmar Bergman. It has been referenced and parodied endlessly over the years, and has become seen as something of the archetypal high-brow "art" film. The film is deservedly a modern classic. Bergman grew up in an intensely Christian household. His father was a rector in the Church and as a child Ingmar Bergman would frequently accompany him on his visits to remote, rural churches where he saw medieval paintings and wood carvings which were among the chief inspirations for the film (in fact the screenplay for the film was based on a student play Ingmar Bergman wrote called Wood Painting). The film is a deeply personal one and deals with religious questions which concerned Bergman throughout his life, and some of the themes of the film, such as the "silence of God", were major preoccupations throughout his life.
The film is stunningly shot in crisp black-and-white, and some images from the film have become icons of world cinema particularly the image of the knight playing Chess with Death on the rocky shore as the sun rises. The film deals with weighty philosophical themes but it is also at times very funny. There is a strong element of bawdy comedy running through it, even Death gets a couple of one-liners. Comedy was not one of Bergman's strenghts admittedly, and he lacks the lightness of touch to make the humour work as well as it could, but it still gets some laughs. There is also plenty of suspense and drama.
The acting is good, with many of the actors being regular Bergman players. Max von Sydow is a particular standout as the anguished, searching knight knight
Powerful, complex, intriguing and entertaining, this is a masterpiece of world cinema and well worth checking out. Ultimately the film concerns itself with one of the major questions, the search for some kind of meaning to life.

Death: "Do you never stop asking questions?"
Block: "No, never"
Death: "But you get no answers."




Death (Bengt Everot) and the Knight (Max von Sydow) start their game in The Seventh Seal

Season of the Witch

Year: 2010
Director: Dominic Sena
Screenplay: Bragi F. Schut
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy, Robert Sheehan, Ulrich Thomsen, Stephen Graham, Christopher Lee
Running Time: 98 minutes
Genre: Period, action, adventure, horror

Summary: In the 14th Century, two knights fighting in the Crusades, Behman (Cage) and Felson (Perlman), are sickened by the slaughter of innocent people, including women and children, and so decide to leave. Returning home to Europe as deserters, they find their homeland ravaged by the Black Death. Arriving in a town, they are soon arrested, but are offered a pardon if they agree to help transport a young woman (Foy) accused of witchcraft, and who the town's priests believe caused the Black Death by sorcery. The knights are to take her on a dangerous six day journey to a remote monastery where she is to be put on trial and where it is believed the monks will be able to undo her magic. They are accompanied by a third knight (Thomsen), a priest (Moore), an altar boy who wants to become a knight (Sheehan) and a convicted swindler (Graham) who is to serve as a guide. As they embark on their already perilous journey, they soon disover that, despite being bound in chains and held in a cage, their prisoner is not as defenceless as she appears.

Opinions: This movie blends road movie, buddy movie, supernatural horror and medieval action-adventure. However, it is less than successful. Nicolas Cage is not a bad actor at all, he can be very good, but he is annoyingly inconsistent, and it is fair to say that he has made more than his share of turkeys. Certainly he does not convince as a fourteenth century knight. Ron Perlman, however, is impressive as his fellow knight, who provides the film with much needed screen presence and intentional humour. Claire Foy, best known from the BBC television version of Little Dorrit (2008), is impressive as the accused woman, managing to appear both innocent and sinister. In fact, it is a real pity that she is not given more to do.
Visually, it ranges from beign quite good, to some truly horrendous special effects. The producton design is quite effective though and the senes shot on location look good.
The script is very silly in places, and it is not particularly scary. However, there is enough action, and both intentional and unintentional humour, to keep up the interest. The movie will probably become a cult film in the future and is probably best checked out when it is shown on late night TV.


Nicolas Cage in Season of the Witch