Hey, I've seen something at the cinema for a change. YAY!
Black Death (2010)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
From the director of the awesome Triangle (perhaps best described as a 'time-travelling action mystery' movie) and the horror-comedy Severance, comes what Mark Kermode aptly describes as "Wicker Man gets the plague". Sean Bean and his band of well-travelled soldiers are tracking down a village which appears to be somehow immune to the ravages of the black death. They expect to find demons and necromancers and they don't intend to be merciful with them either. However, things don't all turn out as they expect and the main protagonist, a young local monk who has volunteered to act as a guide for them, turns out to be more of a wild card than expected.
I'm still not entirely sure what the message of the film meant. Certainly there are many elements which are probably lacking in historical accuracy, but that doesn't matter because the movie is creating a mythology of its own. (Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.nonsecateur helpfully interjected that they wouldn't have burnt witches back then.... They'd have hung them. Um... thanks for that, lol!)
This movie is likely to be a bit too unpleasant for many people. It has to be said that I'm rather squeamish myself, but fortunately the worst stuff is neatly kept offscreen. Nevertheless, what happens offscreen is implied very effectively with the intention of helping your imagination conjure up the imagery that special effects would have more difficulty acheiving.
All director Christopher Smith's movies seem to have a mysterious element to them and make you piece things together as they go along and this is certainly no exception. The strange mythology of the movie means that when characters are considering whether the black plague is a punishment from God or an assault by the devil, the audience find themselves seriously considering these viewpoints (even a harcore atheist like myself). It's clear from the beginning that there are not going to be clear-cut heroes and villains in this piece and this moral ambiguity only becomes more entrenched as the movie proceeds.
I'm not sure that people will be labelling it a classic, but its highly thought-provoking and well executed. The thing is that at the end, while I'd definitely say that was a good movie, I'm also wondering what to make of it. I wouldn't say that the ending was entirely unpredictable, but it certainly pulls the rug out from under you and it's difficult to know how to react.
Check out Black Death if you've got the stomach for it. It's a bizarre experience, but well worth your time.
4.5/5
Black Death (2010)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
From the director of the awesome Triangle (perhaps best described as a 'time-travelling action mystery' movie) and the horror-comedy Severance, comes what Mark Kermode aptly describes as "Wicker Man gets the plague". Sean Bean and his band of well-travelled soldiers are tracking down a village which appears to be somehow immune to the ravages of the black death. They expect to find demons and necromancers and they don't intend to be merciful with them either. However, things don't all turn out as they expect and the main protagonist, a young local monk who has volunteered to act as a guide for them, turns out to be more of a wild card than expected.
I'm still not entirely sure what the message of the film meant. Certainly there are many elements which are probably lacking in historical accuracy, but that doesn't matter because the movie is creating a mythology of its own. (Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
nonsecateur helpfully interjected that they wouldn't have burnt witches back then.... They'd have hung them. Um... thanks for that, lol!)This movie is likely to be a bit too unpleasant for many people. It has to be said that I'm rather squeamish myself, but fortunately the worst stuff is neatly kept offscreen. Nevertheless, what happens offscreen is implied very effectively with the intention of helping your imagination conjure up the imagery that special effects would have more difficulty acheiving.
All director Christopher Smith's movies seem to have a mysterious element to them and make you piece things together as they go along and this is certainly no exception. The strange mythology of the movie means that when characters are considering whether the black plague is a punishment from God or an assault by the devil, the audience find themselves seriously considering these viewpoints (even a harcore atheist like myself). It's clear from the beginning that there are not going to be clear-cut heroes and villains in this piece and this moral ambiguity only becomes more entrenched as the movie proceeds.
I'm not sure that people will be labelling it a classic, but its highly thought-provoking and well executed. The thing is that at the end, while I'd definitely say that was a good movie, I'm also wondering what to make of it. I wouldn't say that the ending was entirely unpredictable, but it certainly pulls the rug out from under you and it's difficult to know how to react.
Check out Black Death if you've got the stomach for it. It's a bizarre experience, but well worth your time.
4.5/5
