Hwaet!
For my birthday my dad got me tickets to go see the Canadian gala premiere of Beowulf and Grendel. So last night my brother and I went into TO and attended a short little reception thingy with good food and free beer and went off to see the film. Before they put it on, There was a short interview with the Director, Sturla Gunnarsson, an Icelandic Canadian, and the screenwriter, Andrew Rai Berzins. Interesting stories were told, and we had the warning ahead of time that this wasn't your high school beowulf, that they had to (understandably) elaborate the story a little bit.
I've gotta say it's one of the best historical pieces I've ever seen. I imagine it has something to do with my particular "inclination" towards that historical milieu, but the feeling of primeval Northern European life was something the likes of which I've never seen. The whole film was shot in the wilderness of Iceland, and the scenery is breathtaking. The writing also particularly caught me. Apparently what the writer decided to do was take a look at the English language and use only words of Norse origin, so as to give the film a feeling of the powerful if blunt northen speech, without actually pulling a "Passion of the Christ". Really beautiful and evocative score as well.
And then there was the acting. Pretty great all told, but Grendel was AMAZING. They portrayed him as a very human "monster" but the nuance the actor gave through his grunting and smashing and cavorting was something to behold.
Basically it was a really beautiful and gritty film. And from what I understand it's seeing a wide Canadian release as of March 10th with no formal contract signed with the US or the UK. Apparently they're going to see how does in Canada first. It does bear a thoroughly "non-Hollywood" style, and might be a little challenging for some filmgoers (There's surprisingly little action for such a story, but no worries, it's there.) So all you Canadians who have ANY interest in this kind of story, GO SEE THIS FILM! For a movie about a bunch of drunken warriors, it's really artfully done, while also engaging, hilariously funny at points, and also quite sad.
Apparently it's receiving quite a bit of flak for its creative liberties from people who treat the original epic as somewhat of a literary Bible. To them I say shaddap. This is the kind of story that was probably passed around campfires for hundreds of years before being put to sheepskin. Everyone has a particular bend when they pass it on. The bend they give this is quite beautiful.
Additionally apparently Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) is coming out with his own version with people like Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie in 2007. While I'm all for different interpretations, and wild trolls will have to drag me away from seeing this version as well, I'm really glad I saw the Gunnarsson version first. A movie with those names attached is bound to be somewhat over the top. I recommend to anyone who is excited about that big-budget version, see this one first. It'll be hard-pressed to be beaten by any amount of shovelfuls of money.
So yeah, Let's Canadians support this amazing Canadian film so the rest of the world can see it. Hopefully you Americans get your chance soon enough.
Be well
P.S. You might recognize one of Beowulf's cronies as one of the vikings from the 13th Warrior. That guy's got the best job in the world.
I've gotta say it's one of the best historical pieces I've ever seen. I imagine it has something to do with my particular "inclination" towards that historical milieu, but the feeling of primeval Northern European life was something the likes of which I've never seen. The whole film was shot in the wilderness of Iceland, and the scenery is breathtaking. The writing also particularly caught me. Apparently what the writer decided to do was take a look at the English language and use only words of Norse origin, so as to give the film a feeling of the powerful if blunt northen speech, without actually pulling a "Passion of the Christ". Really beautiful and evocative score as well.
And then there was the acting. Pretty great all told, but Grendel was AMAZING. They portrayed him as a very human "monster" but the nuance the actor gave through his grunting and smashing and cavorting was something to behold.
Basically it was a really beautiful and gritty film. And from what I understand it's seeing a wide Canadian release as of March 10th with no formal contract signed with the US or the UK. Apparently they're going to see how does in Canada first. It does bear a thoroughly "non-Hollywood" style, and might be a little challenging for some filmgoers (There's surprisingly little action for such a story, but no worries, it's there.) So all you Canadians who have ANY interest in this kind of story, GO SEE THIS FILM! For a movie about a bunch of drunken warriors, it's really artfully done, while also engaging, hilariously funny at points, and also quite sad.
Apparently it's receiving quite a bit of flak for its creative liberties from people who treat the original epic as somewhat of a literary Bible. To them I say shaddap. This is the kind of story that was probably passed around campfires for hundreds of years before being put to sheepskin. Everyone has a particular bend when they pass it on. The bend they give this is quite beautiful.
Additionally apparently Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) is coming out with his own version with people like Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie in 2007. While I'm all for different interpretations, and wild trolls will have to drag me away from seeing this version as well, I'm really glad I saw the Gunnarsson version first. A movie with those names attached is bound to be somewhat over the top. I recommend to anyone who is excited about that big-budget version, see this one first. It'll be hard-pressed to be beaten by any amount of shovelfuls of money.
So yeah, Let's Canadians support this amazing Canadian film so the rest of the world can see it. Hopefully you Americans get your chance soon enough.
Be well
P.S. You might recognize one of Beowulf's cronies as one of the vikings from the 13th Warrior. That guy's got the best job in the world.