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Cadfael - The Holy Thief

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Fans of Ellis Peters' most intriguing monk, Brother Cadfael, will certainly enjoy this dramatic presentation of The Holy Thief. Derek Jacobi was made to be Brother Cadfael, a soldier of the Crusades, who laid down his sword and pledged himself to holy orders leaving behind the ways of the world. Alas, the ways of the world inhabit the monastery of Shrewsbury. Our dear monk is called on time and time again to solve mystery upon mystery that befalls the monastery.

Sigh, this time a greedy self-centered abbot from Ramsey lays claim to the relics of St. Winifred. Ramsey has been burned down and her presence would enable that monastery to be built anew. Abbot Radulfus' bases his claim on the vision of his young novice who was told by the saint to come and retrieve her.

Pardon the expression,"as all hell breaks loose", everybody stakes their claims for the bones. To make matters worse Winifred gets stolen and someone gets murdered. It is a Holy Mess and Cadfael is called upon to clean it up. From their our story goes through various twists, turns and detours. Cadfael gets to a point of him blowing his top. Wonderful. What a great story. One major flaw is the cinematic production strays quite away from the book but of course this is expected. You still get the fundamentals of the conflict and find yourself wondering who done it. By the way, it's not who you think even if you did read the book. I love a video that will keep you guessing. So will you.

Brother Cadfael saves another innocent and catches another culprit in the typical Cadfael style. Great theatre, backdrops and performances. If Cadfaelis your "cup of Monk", this flick will not disappoint.

In the Middle Ages, relics -- especially bones and body parts -- were a big draw for pilgrims and worshipers.

Unfortunately the bones of Welsh saint Winifred seem to cause an awful lot of trouble for Cadfael -- especially in "The Holy Thief." Derek Jacobi is simply brilliant once more as a clever soldier-turned-monk with a knack for finding evidence, even surrounded by devious abbots, arrogant soldiers and too much water.

During a torrential rainstorm, arrogant Abbot Herluin (George Irving) and his novice Tutilo (Benedict Sandiford) arrive at the Abbey. Their home, Ramsey Abbey has been burned -- and Herluin wants to "borrow" St. Winifred's bones to fund the rebuilding.

Unfortunately the snotty abbot quickly gets on Cadfael's bad side, especially in his nastiness to the beautiful slave Daalny (Louise Delamere), whom Tutilo is visibly struck by. When a rich patron leaves Tutilo a jeweled necklace that could easily rebuild the abbey, Herluin throws a fit and demands to have the bones anyway. But then the bones, the necklace and Daalny all go missing.

Cadfael finds the bones and the girl, and later the cart's driver. Of course, he's been murdered -- and all the evidence is against Tutilo. As Herluin and the arrogant Lord Beaumont (Richard Lintern) claim that St. Winifred wants to be with them, Cadfael tries to clear Tutilo's name before he's hung for his holy crime -- and a very unholy murder.

People with SADS should avoid watching "The Holy Thief," mainly because it's a pretty dreary affair visually -- lots of mud, torrential rain, chilly forests and pale light. And the look at medieval England is anything but glamorous -- everything is slightly damp and grimy, even in the relatively comfortable surroundings of the abbey.

But as a mystery, it's a nice solid adaptation of Ellis Peters' novel: religious strife, civil war, a murder that only Cadfael can solve, and a bit of cute romance as well. And aside from the whole murder thing, there are subplots involving Daalny's slavery, and the people who just want St. Winifred for their own greedy purposes. One particularly beautiful and haunting scene involves using the Bible to figure out what the saint's will is, surrounded by burning candles and flower petals.

Derek Jacobi is casually brilliant as the soldier-turned-monk Cadfael, a calm and spiritual man who can blaze up when the well-being of his patients and friends is affected (My lord, you CREEP ALONG THE GROUND!"). And he's backed by some solid supporting actors in the prissy Julian Firth, Michael Culver, and the stately Terrence Hardiman. Anthony Green (as Hugh Beringar) comes across as rather snotty and wooden, though.

It also has some solid side performances -- Irving is wonderfully despicable as the self-righteous, slimy Herluin, who disdains Cadfael because of his past as a soldier. Sandiford is also quite good as Heluin's opposite (a naive, sweet-natured young novice) and his blossoming relationship with the beautiful Delamere is adorable.

"Cadfael: The Holy Thief" is a nice solid mystery in an excellent series, with solid acting and a seemingly ironclad case. And Jacobi rules, period.

Quality item from a quality merchant. I recommend playing this tape in a VCR.

This Cadfael story are said to be darker in character and not as much as lighter earlier mysteries. This is not my favorite Hugh Beringar (Anthony Green.) I prefer Eoin McCarthy. However he works well in this Cadfael. In The Holy Thief while most people were using trial by water to catch the guilty, Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) uses forensics to track down the murder.

The abbey in Ramsey is bunt down by rebel soldiers. You may recall the time of the civil war between King Stephen and Queen Maude. As is the custom they clam the loan of St. Winifred's holy relics, to help build their monastery. You may also recall in "A Morbid Taste for Bones" the trouble Shrewsbury had obtaining St. Winifred. So in stead Brother Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus offer precious gems.

A stormy night comes up and in the disarray Winifred is pinched. In the process there is a murder. Only the balance and counter balance of Cadfael and Beringar can solve this, if any one can.


Cadfael - One Corpse Too Many