Friday, February 02, 2007
Tristan and Isolde
The historical background information about the post-roman facts in Cornwall appear to be fairly accurate.
I liked the fact that they identified the Britons, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts. I also liked the fact that they didn't bother to recreate some kind of fake accent for everyone. They spoke in conventional modern English.
The story is another reenactment of a famous medieval Celtic legend.
Other versions of the story tell of the doomed love and elopement of the central figures. The story also involves the taking of a magic potion that permanently seals their love. In some versions Tristan become one of the knights of the round table.
The movie version changes most of these things. The characters' names are kept the same but their activities are somewhat different. For example, in an early battle scene Tristan leads the fight against Irish raiders who are stealing women from Cornwall. He is wounded by a blade covered with a paralyzing poison. His compatriots think he is dead and send him out to sea on a funeral boat. When the boat grounds itself in Ireland he is found and revived by Isolde who knows about herbal remedies. In the end of the movie-version Tristan dies.
I don't mind the changing of a legendary story. After all, legends may contain a grain of truth but they are not a historical record. The thing that I did mind was the focus on brutality and the modern sensibilities that were included in the story.
The feminism of Isolde comes across as false. I think nearly half of the story was battle scenes. I can imagine that Hollywood believes that they can't tell a story to the modern audience without all the gore. But for me it seemed to be way over the top.
I liked the fact that they identified the Britons, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts. I also liked the fact that they didn't bother to recreate some kind of fake accent for everyone. They spoke in conventional modern English.
The story is another reenactment of a famous medieval Celtic legend.
Other versions of the story tell of the doomed love and elopement of the central figures. The story also involves the taking of a magic potion that permanently seals their love. In some versions Tristan become one of the knights of the round table.
The movie version changes most of these things. The characters' names are kept the same but their activities are somewhat different. For example, in an early battle scene Tristan leads the fight against Irish raiders who are stealing women from Cornwall. He is wounded by a blade covered with a paralyzing poison. His compatriots think he is dead and send him out to sea on a funeral boat. When the boat grounds itself in Ireland he is found and revived by Isolde who knows about herbal remedies. In the end of the movie-version Tristan dies.
I don't mind the changing of a legendary story. After all, legends may contain a grain of truth but they are not a historical record. The thing that I did mind was the focus on brutality and the modern sensibilities that were included in the story.
The feminism of Isolde comes across as false. I think nearly half of the story was battle scenes. I can imagine that Hollywood believes that they can't tell a story to the modern audience without all the gore. But for me it seemed to be way over the top.
# posted by blue-foot Sue @ 8:46 AM 
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