|
It is 60 B.C., when Rome led by Julius Caesar (Klaus Maria Brandeur), with its well-trained
and well-equipped military, is lording it over many nations. In the ancient country of Gaul (an area of modern France), Vercingetorix (Christopher Lambert) witnesses his
father, Gaul's leader, killed by his own brother. He escapes from his uncle, and with an elderly Druid (Max Von Sydow) as his adviser, he vows to avenge his father's death and
reclaim the leadership that is rightfully his. Caesar, impressed with the dauntless youth, invites him to join the Roman army with the promise of appointing him leader of the
Gauls. The proud Vercingetorix, refusing to serve under Caesar or any other ruler, organizes the scattered tribes of Gaul into an uncouth, ragtag army recklessly daring to
combat the powerful Roman soldiers. He realizes soon enough how his neophyte soldiers are slowly being slaughtered that he sends them away to safety. But bursting with
eagerness for war, they are determined to fight to the finish.
The movie falls gravely short of its alluring tagline of action-packed events that made the
hero King of the Gladiators. Primarily, the title is quite misleading. In fact, the movie's title abroad is "Druids". The hero, despite his being a strong, brave
warrior, was never a gladiator, unless taken metaphorically. There is the suspicion that the producers were but riding on the recent huge success of the awarded movie "
The Gladiator". As to action, there are many battle scenes but nothing really new nor spectacular. The plot is trite and the acting limp, in spite of Lambert. The casting
is so-so, but curiously noticeable is the strange-looking Caesar—moon-faced and quitePinoy looking, so alien to the Shakespearean Caesar that we have grown familiar with. While the photography cannot be considered great, the misty scene at the beginning of the smoky gray-and-white-robed Druids of old, is a striking foil against the fiery red of war. The background music, often too loud for comfort, is effectively muted to wailing sound effects during the heavy fighting with the action shot in slow motion.
Because of scenes of violence and nudity, this film is not for the very young. The
protagonists are all fatalistic, repeatedly viewing events as their destiny. Though the fire of fight in the hero is initially spawned by revenge, it develops into a fierce
love of country as he becomes Caesar's mortal enemy. While the movie does not have much to offer technically and maybe was a great disappointment to action thriller fans, it
clearly portrays the commendable banding together of people at war. And in this, Vercingetorix is successful in uniting the many scattered tribes of Gaul for whom he is
willing and ready to sacrifice. There is also the foolhardy ambition of "small nations", their brave strong-minded leader notwithstanding, to fight the immensely powerful
against all odds.
(Date reviewed: November 16, 2001)
|
