Customer Reviews

Beowulf & Grendel [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

This film was shown three times at the Sarasota Film Festival although it was originally scheduled twice. It sold out so fast a special third screening was added due to popular demand. On Sunday April 9, 2006 I was fortunate enough to attend. Prior to the show, the Producer and Director were introduced who answered questions after the film. The most interesting questions and answers related to how the ideas and vision of this epic story were creatively conceived and made into reality within the setting of Iceland. It was a six year project from idea to finished product ... It was a huge hit at the Toronto Film Festival and was an equal smash at the Sarasota Film Festival. This film deserves wider distribution at theaters throughout the USA and internationally. It has all the qualities of a multimillion dollar multiple-award Oscar-winning film.

Gerard Butler is superbly cast as Beowulf, a hero and fighter from Greatland who comes to help the Danes fight a troll who has been wreaking havoc among them ... The King of the Danes provides a background of the troll's murderous activity but fails to tell the whole truth to Beowulf and his mighty warriors. The scenery in Iceland is breath-takingly beautiful - views of stark rocky mountains, steep icey cliffs, green hillsides and crashing waves against the shoreline. Although, the Danes were fierce fighters a certain fear had taken hold - they no longer trusted their own gods to support and protect them. They were fighting a troll who managed to elude their fiercest efforts ... The Danes succumbed to baptism and the beliefs of the after life as taught by wandering Christian monks. Amazingly, even the Danish King was baptized after falling deeply into depression and alcoholism while watching some of his best men die. Perhaps the soul of the King was tortured by some dark untold secret? Along with the obvious good versus evil aspects of the story, there are unexpected gems of hilarious moments with respect to the literary license used in the dialogue and deeper hidden meaning of the plot and story line.

After Beowful met Selma the witch and had personally encountered the troll, he uncovered some bewildering aspects of the troll's character and behavior ... rather than seeing him as a wild animal, as described by the Danes, Beowulf noticed the troll carefully selected victims each of whom had harmed or threatened the troll. Beowulf and his warriors continue aiding the Danes but the battle lines are not drawn as straightly or clearly as before. The amazing curves and twists to the story line are very satisfying. The cinematography is outstanding. The battle and fight scenes are just as gruesome as required for the subject matter ... The most appealing aspect of this film is how the big bad monster is shown in a different light toward the end when the deeper hidden meaning of its behavior is better understood. While the film does deviate from the original adventurous epic poem, it has a universal appeal due to the engaging mannerisms of the characters and the gradual blossoming of the character of Grendel. The use of comedy helps balance the more gory gruesome scenes and their aftermath. Due to some adult content should not be viewed by anyone under age 18 without parental consent. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

Unless you just get a kick out of--

1. sweeping, windy, frigid landscapes with a sort of terrifying beauty

2. modern revisionism that updates a classic adventure tale's meaning

3. extremely attractive Northern European he-males

--you may wanna skip Beowulf.

And yet...and yet, I suggest you try it, even though I was less than blown away.

Why?

Well, certainly number one above. Visually, this film takes you someplace stunningly cool (metaphorically, not just literally), an environment so bleak in spots and so callous in others and so apathetic to human suffering, that it's a fitting background for this stark tale of revenge and bloodshed and loss and heroics and loyalty. A cold wind surely does blow, outside and inside the soul.

Also, you may enjoy the revisionist take. Grendel is now the terribly injured party dealing with a sort of bigotry for his "monsterhood": He and his kind are hated for being different, ugly, smelly, not evil. (I believe, if memory serves from the long-ago high school reading, that Grendel did represent evil, and not merely a symbol of aggrieved minority.)

And almost certainly you will enjoy the charisma of actor Gerard Butler. That man is good. He can act--see THE JURY or PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or DEAR FRANKIE or even CRADLE OF LIFE to see how he can inhabit various types of roles and make them come to life with that combination of personal magnetism, vocal expression, facial expression, body language and just plain emotive power. I have no idea why this man is not a huge, huge star. He's got everything it takes, the complete package of ridiculous good looks and acting chops and versatility. He can be funny or menacing or romantic or so vulnerable you weep. Perhaps 300 will do it for him in 2007.

As to the others: Stellan Skarsgaard is dependably good as an actor, if not always top-notch. He's good here, definitely a man chased by a Gredelian fury for his bloody deed long ago. Sarah Polley is less effective as the witch, and yet not totally ineffective. She simply was miscast. (She was terrific in THE SWEET HEREAFTER and I liked her in GO! and know she can act. It's just not a good fit for her, this role.)

Still, at the end of the day, Gerard Butler and the marvelous landscape are the two reasons to buy or rent or just borrow this DVD. Two potent forces of nature--Iceland and Butler--do manage to make a somewhat lackluster movie work in spots.

Bottom line: Try it, because parts of it work. And if you're a Gerard Butler fan, buy it, because he is a gift to cinema and quite easy on the eyes and ears. And if you can't travel to a high Northern wilderness, but kind of want to, visit a remote and windy spot with BEOWULF & GRENDEL.

The Icelandic scenery is enough to make you want to see this movie more than once! I found myself wanting more as the credits rolled. It contains everything - including well-placed humor - and brings up so many varied emotions. Beowulf and Grendel was meant to be made and seen by so many. I've pre-ordered mine on amazon.ca and am hopeful it will come to the 'big screen' in the States. I want to see it again!!!

I recently saw this film at a special showing in Las Vegas and
was very impressed with the beauty of production. It is a very
unusual story and definitely not the usual 'hollywood' fare. The
story was real study in what is good and evil, and our perceptions
of heroes and villians. Not everything is always black and white. The scenery is unbelievably beautiful and other worldly. The
acting is good, especially Gerard Butler and Stellan Skaarsgard.
I understand it is going to be released later this month in limited
engagements in five or six major U.S. cities. There will also be
a DVD released in July from Canada.

I have eagerly awaited the release of this DVD, as the movie itself doesn't seem to be appearing in U.S. theaters. That's a shame, really. The fantastic Icelandic landscape must be breath-taking on the big screen.

Stellan Skarsgard does an excellent job in his role of Hrothgar, the Dane king whose spirit is beaten and broken by the depradations of a vengeful Grendel. I am a huge fan of Gerard Butler, and enjoyed watching how he fleshed out the character of Beowulf, giving him far more dimension than the rather stilted script offered.

I think that is what I disliked about this movie. Most of the characters never achieved the level of credibility needed due to the stilted, and sometimes awkward dialogue, which ranged from poetic to middle-school boy's bathroom.

I didn't hate the film; I guess I just expected more from it.

I'm uncertain why this film hasn't been released in the United
States. However, this film adaptation of the ancient, beautiful, epic tale, Beowulf, was a blockbuster in Canada, Iceland, and the rest of Europe. It can be purchased, nonetheless, on Amazon.ca (Canada's Amazon.com).

I was luck enough to see this at the film festival in Sarasota in April 2006. Lucky, because two other showing of it sold out and they were kind enough to add another showing. It is full of beauty, the story is great, the performances and costumes are terrific. The director happened to be at the screening and discussed his POV. Gerry Butler is excellent. This is his kind of role--a thinking man of action. I pray some smart distributor will pick this up and allow the US to fall in love with Iceland, the epic poem and the great story.

Admittedly, the fabulous scenery - and the hunky Gerard Butler - are the best things about Beowulf & Grendel. Shooting on rugged Icelandic locations, cinematographer Jan Kiesser provides some gorgeous wide screen vistas that give the film a visual power that goes a long way toward compensating for its narrative deficiencies and its penchant for silliness.

The film itself has moments that are astonishingly dull and fractured - particularly in the first twenty minutes - with most of the action composed of lots of misty eyed running around on rocks and howling at sunsets. Obviously, this Canadian/British/Icelandic co production from director Sturla Gunnarsson is trying to be reality driven, but the movie in the end, suffers from a definitive lack of scope.

The old English tale was majestic and epic, but this film ultimately lacks the grandeur and wit necessary to make the legend fully come alive. The Danish King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård) has built a new "great hall" but the implacable, seemingly invincible giant troll Grendel (Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson) - seeking revenge for the murder of his father - is repeatedly attacking the King's people.

Hero and warrior Beowulf (Gerard Butler) is recruited by his friend the King to rid his kingdom of this murderous troll. It isn't long before Beowulf figures he's being manipulated by a beautiful a witch portrayed by Sarah Polley - a dead-ringer for Cindi Lauper - who is particularly generous with her sexual favors and who also seems to be hiding secrets about Grendel's mysterious ways.

In order to make the film appear realistically hip, the script is spruced up with long stretches of what seems like Old English with unexpected bursts of cussing, profanity and gleeful vulgarity - Grendel is constantly referred to as a "f*cking troll" and Butler says something about him having a "hairy *ss!" But the language - when you can hear it through the accents - ends up feeling as misguided and somewhat gratuitous as just about everything else in the film.

On the positive side, Beowulf & Grendel does a fairly good job of showing us how this old world functioned in the harsh and cold Nordic environment and how the onset of Chistianity was beginning to infiltrate the pagan Norse ways. Indeed Beowolf is quite sceptical of this new religion, whilst the sickly Hrothgar seeks to be baptised and ponders heavily on the truth of heaven.

The performances are at least competent, with Butler looking appropriately earthy and sexy and heroic-like, although Polley is woefully miscast, appearing in her impeccably contemporary makeup, she makes the film's obviously noble ambitions go entertainingly awry.

Grendel was obviously a murderer but he was also the son, father, lover, and playful child who enjoyed sumersaulting and bowling with human skulls. It's just a pity that this film doesn't really do him justice. All the protracted silliness that ensures along with the rather bland direction will ensure that even fans of the source material will be left scratching their heads in bewilderment. Mike Leonard September 06.

A film beyond any other film I have seen recently, it is a masterpiece of restraint, skill, authenticity, beauty and storytelling. It retells the most ancient text of the English language.

Beowulf and Grendel is not an adaptation but an interpretation of the original text. It is overflowing with beauty and a deep respect for the 1500-year old piece of skaldic poetry. Every image is a work of art and the screenplay respects the original epic, whilst allowing some artistic license.

Unlike the saga, it takes a neutral stance on the tale and demonstrates how a culture of violence and revenge is inevitably doomed.

Where this film differs greatly from the "original" is in its Christian content. Naturally, it is difficult to talk about Christian content in Beowulf since it is a pre-Christian text. The themes contained in the medieval text are of pagan origin: kinship, revenge, the acquisition of wealth, honour and death in battle, etc. As the roots of the tale developed in Scandinavia, the story switched to written form. Naturally only the clergy could write, so the story took on a Christian twist. The film wants nothing to do with this, looking through the dogma and deep into its true pagan roots.

It would of course be unfair to say that it is purely a pagan story line since there is clearly a Christian element to it, the Celtic missionary, but he simply serves to demonstrate the underhanded methods used by the early Church to convert the "heathens".

If I was to nitpick, I would say that it would have been interesting to have the film in Gamle Dansk. Passion of the Christ did this for Aramaic, it would have been feasible to do it here.

With this weak criticism, I exhort you all to watch this.

If you have any love for Seamus Heaney's recent translation of the Beowulf epic saga, for action movies or for the core tenets of the western warrior ethic then DON'T watch this movie. It will break your heart at its misrepresentation of its primary source and in its mean spirited attack on the early roots of the Northern European cultures. When "Brother Where Art Thou" came out the authors claimed that it was based on the Odyssey. That movie was so far removed from anything to do with the Odyssey that you could ignore that piece of post modern conceit and enjoy a uniquely told tale. This movie cannot be ignored for what it is - a deliberate revision of the saga to make traditional heroism and warrior spirit seem lost, confused, helpless and deserving of extinction.

The movie's themes are a complete rejection of the core values and actions of the characters in the saga and the themes that have replaced it are designed to ridicule the traditional heroes and laud the villains of the piece. In this movie Beowulf can be an effective hero but is now "confused" as to whether he is on the side of "right" this time. Grendel's violence is only a reaction to violence perpetrated by the Dane King, Hrothgar - so we have the Europeans favorite theme- "the cycle of violence" as the cause of the genocidal attacks of Grendel on the Danes. And the monster avoids the king and kills his people, so it really is an attack on all, not just the king. Oddly, the king's real error was in showing mercy to Grendel as a child so, as troubling as it seems, the movie supports the traditional European perspective that ethnic cleansing works - leave no survivors or you will pay. (Its nice to see an act of mercy to the child of a poacher result in the deaths of dozens of people who had nothing to do with the problem in the first place. Terrorism is your payment for existing is also a constant EU-like theme these days.)The King is a drunken, cowardly lout who is incompetent and a figure of ridicule, as are all authority figures in the post modern view. The main female character was forced into a life as a prostitute as an orphan but is also harboring the child of Grendel--who raped her but now protects her from those who would "cut my throat" although the village seems quite happy to have her around--so I am assuming this is because they WOULD kill her if they knew about the child. Earlier in the movie, the Queen offers the female sanctuary within the court but the character replies that "We made our choices long ago". Like any good movie viewer you think "Ah, back story!" Yet later we find that the female character has never made a single choice in any of this - raped as a child prostitute and raped and impregnated by Grendel. So that message is blurry to say the least. Grendel is not a troll - our confused and pensive hero asks "What is a troll exactly?" and in the movie it seems that Grendel, like both his father and his son are just really huge hairy guys who don't speak and look scary enough to be threatening. (The "challenged" and misunderstood outsider is the victim of mainstream cultural prejudice).Oddly, after Grendel impregnates the female character her hair begins to look as straggled as does Grendel and family--- sort of a bride of Frankenstein or Army of Darkness effect once you have been raped by the monster. Clearly, this element got completely away from the authors of the screen play. Equating prostitution and rape is not a bad idea, it's just interesting coming from a culture that so embraces "entertainment worker visas" for major sporting events. As for Beowulf--he is brave enough, but inept in fighting the monster and when the struggle finally takes place it is Grendel who cuts off his own arm to escape--and that confrontation only occurs because Beowulf and his men desecrated Grendel's shrine to his dead father - the cycle of violence thing again. In the end, Grendel does die and Beowulf kills Grendel's mother with his sword. But then he also meets the hidden Grendel child and is basically mocked by the female character that the child will also exact revenge against Beowulf for the death of Grendel. ("So, Hrothgar taught you nothing.") Beowulf lets the kid and the Mother live. He must be counting on the distance between them because this story makes it clear-- once the revenge cycle has started they will come for you and no act of mercy or soulful looks or lame "shrine" to the homicidal martyr who just killed himself will keep you from getting your head bashed in.

There has been a GREAT deal of discussion, commentary and disagreement about the topic of the "culture war" between those who hold a respectful and traditionalist view of the main tenets of western civilization and those who disparage it. Often this issue seems overplayed and certainly serves as a political football. But sometimes you just trip over an example of the "revision" of a core western virtue or cultural frame of reference which not only denigrates the culture, but distorts it beyond all recognition. So it is with this terrible movie and the cowardly and dishonest cultural perspective that it promotes.( In passing, if you are interested in a masterful telling of this saga from Grendel's point of view, then find Grendel by John Gardner. Now that is the way to reverse a story without destroying its core principles. If you think I am over reacting to the post modern view of this saga, read Honor by James Bowman).