02-19-2024, 12:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-19-2024, 12:28 AM by Drunk Monk.)
First off, I must correct my python reference. Palin played Galahad, not Gawain. That being said, this upped a page from MP&tHG in that foggy wet atmosphere that is Britain. I was half expecting the knights who say ‘ni!’ To appear.
My reaction to this was not as dismissive as Greg’s but I attribute that to knowing the original poem, or at least studying it in college. It was one of the assignments I got into. The film follow the poem quite well up until the quest. The devil is in the details and understanding the original allegory about faith and honor, and Christianity versus superstition. Th film tries to fill the gaps about the quest with surreal bits, the headless spirit, the fox, the giantesses - it gets back on track somewhat with the lord, the lady and the hag, although that isn’t played out past one kiss. The magic sash, which here has a backstory tied to Morgana, is key in both the film and the poem. It represents Gawain’s lack of faith, his falling to superstition, and his underlying lack of honor with the trades. I remember this being a key point of study, along with the madonna and child inside his shield, both symbols of Gawain’s breach of knightliness. The Xmas meeting with the green knight is played out very differently than the poem - ultimately the green knight quest was just a test, but in the film, it springboards into a variant future, only to return back to the beheading scene where Gawain submits but the result isn’t shown. That’s an ambiguous artsy ending, but readers of the poem know that the green night is the lord and the architect is sorceress Morgan (the hag and Gawain’s mom - which is played out in the beginning in the film). I don’t remember if the poem got into Gawain’s relationship with Morgan now or not. Gawain gets cut because of the sash, which is a nod to his humanity beyond knighthood.
In a way, this reminded me of Hesse’s Siddhartha which takes the Buddha story and twists the end into something else. I don’t think this film gets away with it - it gets muddled by its own attempts to elaborate on the tale - and ultimately tries to end on a question that defies, or is betrayed, by the poem. I kept trying to penetrate the filmmaker’s symbolic language, some of which worked but maybe that was me projecting.
Only recommended for D00Mers into Arthurian myth, and then, only marginally. It was long ago when I was into it so my memory of its convolutions are sketchy. I might’ve enjoyed this more if I was more up on it now.
Seen on Amazon prime.
My reaction to this was not as dismissive as Greg’s but I attribute that to knowing the original poem, or at least studying it in college. It was one of the assignments I got into. The film follow the poem quite well up until the quest. The devil is in the details and understanding the original allegory about faith and honor, and Christianity versus superstition. Th film tries to fill the gaps about the quest with surreal bits, the headless spirit, the fox, the giantesses - it gets back on track somewhat with the lord, the lady and the hag, although that isn’t played out past one kiss. The magic sash, which here has a backstory tied to Morgana, is key in both the film and the poem. It represents Gawain’s lack of faith, his falling to superstition, and his underlying lack of honor with the trades. I remember this being a key point of study, along with the madonna and child inside his shield, both symbols of Gawain’s breach of knightliness. The Xmas meeting with the green knight is played out very differently than the poem - ultimately the green knight quest was just a test, but in the film, it springboards into a variant future, only to return back to the beheading scene where Gawain submits but the result isn’t shown. That’s an ambiguous artsy ending, but readers of the poem know that the green night is the lord and the architect is sorceress Morgan (the hag and Gawain’s mom - which is played out in the beginning in the film). I don’t remember if the poem got into Gawain’s relationship with Morgan now or not. Gawain gets cut because of the sash, which is a nod to his humanity beyond knighthood.
In a way, this reminded me of Hesse’s Siddhartha which takes the Buddha story and twists the end into something else. I don’t think this film gets away with it - it gets muddled by its own attempts to elaborate on the tale - and ultimately tries to end on a question that defies, or is betrayed, by the poem. I kept trying to penetrate the filmmaker’s symbolic language, some of which worked but maybe that was me projecting.
Only recommended for D00Mers into Arthurian myth, and then, only marginally. It was long ago when I was into it so my memory of its convolutions are sketchy. I might’ve enjoyed this more if I was more up on it now.
Seen on Amazon prime.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse