Customer Reviews

Crusade: A March Through Time

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From http://celsiusentertainment.wordpress.com/current-projects/crusade-march-through-time/
"About the new U.S. Release Version:
The film is currently 30 minutes shorter than the previous Dutch version and the story has been streamlined and sharpened bringing the characters and the conflict into greater relief. This new version has a new ending, some new scoring and a couple of new original songs written for the film."

Let me tell you, they really chopped up that ending.
Imagine taking 30 minutes worth of awesome storyline wrap up and squeezing it into 2 minutes. All that information and character wrap up and explanations for why these new characters are in the story and why they are doing what they are doing....gone. Replaced by some haphazard BS. Almost like it had been written by someone completely new who'd never written more than a junior high story for mediated english class.

Aside from the ending, the rest of the story line is totally awesome. Great character development, actions of the characters made sense and fit with the story line and character motivations. Had me, my bf, and my daughter laughing, in tears, tense, and relief. Led up to the climax smoothly, had us wondering if the main character was going to succeed, etc....and then fell flat, worse than flat, with the chopped up ending that made no sense and didn't fit in.

The dutch version seems to have gotten awards, but I don't see how the USA version can even be considered for one with that ending.

I would have given the movie 5 stars, except for that ending (can you tell I hated it??). I give it 2 stars because the movie was actually awesome, but in the end..the USA ending ruined it all.

This film is quite a breath of fresh air in comparison to the higher budget scifi films out there; where the writer's pen is often ever visible. In this film, you're thrown into a time nowhere near as safe or logical as ours and yet the film is catching enough in its realism to compensate for the lack of Hollywood gloss.

In addition, this is a family appropriate film with a wonderfully realistic and mature nature well blended into it. The reality it applies allows parents to watch it without wanting to enact some form of self-strangulation and yet allows children to understanding the world has had and still does contain more serious things, without being terrifying.

This film is also entertaining without superhuman qualities used as plot crutches, which is amazing, to say the least. Additionally, there is some teen romance, a realistic amount of death/blood considering this kid is hurled into the year 1212, and some violence. However, all of it is met with real emotion and not flamboyance or over emphasis. I appreciate that as the movie takes care of itself while not taking on too many unrealistic tasks. This kid doesn't turn into a sword master and is shown in real weakness and plausible strengths in just the right way to make it a beautiful and entertaining film. In the movie world, that's no small feat.

In addition, it encompasses many sets of morals and values that all of us - young and old - sometimes need to revisit - Like not following blindly but also not forgetting that sometimes we need to have faith in something and/or someone. And while this movie moves on the Christian themes of God, even those who are not amongst that logic or ilk can appreciate it. Why? Well, the general sense of applying ourselves, our goodwill, and love (in this case on the part of the main character, Dolf) are things to keep in mind when we come across our own life's hurdles. It's not earthshattering but it's played off so well it's masterful and fun.

So go watch it already!!!

Right at the outset it needs to be said that there are three versions of this movie. The Netherlands [Kruistocht in spijkerbroek] version is 138 minutes long; the German version is 125 minutes, and the North American is stripped down to 100 minutes.

That said, this is a wonderful movie for traditional values, especially religious, families. In a sense, it is a clever comparison between the lack of Christian faith in the modern boy, Dolf, with the simple, trusting faith of the bulk of the people on the Children's Crusade. I think the movie was quite fair in its treatment of both sides. Of course, they had to show the monk-leader to be anything but Christian, which is a negative. But, he clearly is the exception, not the rule, among the believers. In one of the climactic scenes the behavior of the monk and Dolf was compared, in that the monk talked a good talk, but it was Dolf who acted over and over again to help the people. We don't know Dolf's inner spiritual life, but he clearly did to 'the least of these' in the way that Jesus spoke of in the Gospels.

Of course, there is lots of great adventure that will keep the whole family glued to the screen. There is quite a bit of violence, but nothing particularly gory. Also, this was a very hard time in which to live, so they are faced with illness and even the death of some of the children. One of Dolf's most faithful admirers dies when he is kidnapped. Some of the children are sold into slavery for passage through a certain area, but Dolf springs into action and leads a group to rescue the kids.

If you need one movie to entertain the whole family, I think this would be a great choice. Parents may need to explain things to the younger children, but I am sure that even to a kindergartner will be able to tell who is good and who is not. Finally, there is virtually no questionable language. There is a bit from the modern people, but the overwhelming majority of the film takes place with the simple Christian children trying to serve God in the best way they could.

Nothing in this movie is especially plausible. Although the production values (cost) are high, there are hundreds of episodes, in dozens of science fiction TV shows that are far more worth watching.

A soccer kid ... amazingly ... has complete access to what would be one of the most secret installations in the world. He decides to "fix" a mistake he made in a critical international match. That's cheating? Well, this movie isn't bothered by minor philosophical issues like that!

Going back in time to the wrong place in the woods randomly, he is beset by bandits, who try to kill him. That at least is believable. However, he's saved in a nick of time by a beautiful girl who happens to be just his own age. What a coincidence! You can see where this is going. This movie is banal and obvious sci-fi tripe. Worth two stars because they spent a considerable amount on filming, and it's pretty.

A travel through time story with a modern twist, Crusade: A March Through Time is a good showing for actor Joe Flynn, also known as Johnny Flynn, a folk singer. He has said that his acting finances his singing but perhaps we'll see more of both in the future. This is an English speaking remake of a Dutch film, Crusade in Jeans.

Flynn plays Dolph Vega, son of a scientist (Emily Watson), who has invented a time machine in Rotterdam. Dolph spends too much time at her lab, enough time to know how to impersonate his mother and work the machine. On the day in question, Dolph loses a football match in Germany, foiling The Netherlands' chances in the under 17 age group for the next 4 years. He considers the loss to be his fault and resolves to go back 12 hours and do the match over, in Germany. Security tries to stop Dolph, leading to his mother's password being entered into the system as the date of travel. He ends up in the 13th century and joins the Children's Crusade led by Nicholas, a shepherd boy. Dolph falls in with a small group of the crusaders, people he becomes close to, especially Jenne (Stephanie Leonidas). He finds himself trying to help care for thousands of children who are on a crusade to the Holy Land. A priest (Michael Culkin) seems to actually hold the power behind the crusade, not Nicholas, and his actions seem suspicious. Dolph's mother is trying to help him get home but the machine has become damaged during a lightning storm and her superiors put her on leave because of Dolph's actions. There are unexpected friends along the way as well as enemies.

All in all, a fun science fiction romance with a bit of sword fighting and adventure.

I heartily agree with the reviewer who stated that this movie is strong even though it has no Hollywood style gloss. Thank God for that!

This film has more of soul than Hollywood films such as Timeline which falls under the same genre. The latter relies on action to keep the audiences interest, A March through time is far more of a human drama, which explores the motivations of well developed characters. We see Dolf grow from the complaining, indulged modern Kid, to a charismatic and compassionate leader, whom the other children come to love and respect.

Whereas Timeline is mostly shallow, and devoid of anything but a superficial exploration of moral and scientific themes, these are strongly present in A March Through Time. The audience is presented with the themes of friendship, loyalty, love and sacrifice, as well as a thought provoking exploration of the uses and abuses of religion. This is to some characters a convinient justification for thier own selfish ends, and a means of controlling people, whilst to others thier faith forms a genuine basis for thier life and behaviour, as well as a strong moral axis.

There is also mention of the physical effects of the alterations in time, as well as the problems and challenges of overcoming this. This gives the film something of a scientific basis that is lacking in others like it.

Many such time travel movies, especially those set in the ancient of medieval times adopt a very arrogant and patronising view of past eras and the people who lived in them. With modern characters harping on about how much cleverer they are, and how much more knowledge they have than people from the past, or else simply presenting medieval people as superstitious idiots.
This movie does this less often than most, and Dolf comes to understand and respect the people around him, and adapt to thier 'strange' ways, without always assuming he is better than them.

While this movie is clearly not an epic, and does not appear to have been made on a large budget, it is good, fresh fun.

It appears to be rated PG mainly for the adventure violence and peril - there is only one instance of a mild swear word that I noticed. There is an obvious teen romance, but only one mild kiss results.

The acting is all good, with some higher areas of positive greatness (and lower areas of "OKness" in some lesser characters).

The clashes between Dolf's modern knowledge and technology and the superstitions of the medieval people is interesting and entertaining.

Dolf demonstrates loyalty, ingenuity, and bravery throughout the film, as do several other characters.

My only real problem with the movie is that the two leaders of the Crusade were portrayed in a decidedly negative light. The older priest was shown as a self-centered, conniving man bent on making his fortune by selling the children into slavery. Nicholas, the young instigator of the whole Crusade, is fanatical, slightly foolish, and blind to the suffering and dangers his followers are going through (until Dolf points it out). I must admit that I do not know how true this is to the real characters, but it seems a little bit overdone.
However, the faith and fortitude of the common children is very well shown.

Oh, and I did find myself wishing for that extra half hour not available on the American DVDs! The ending did seem a bit precipitate as it was.

Though this is definitely not the most historically correct movie I've ever seen, it did spark conversations with my younger, less historically inclined siblings about the real facts of the Children's Crusade. It's unusual for anything to arouse the slightest curiousity in them about history, so I was quite pleased. A nice bonus!

This movie was actually better than I was expecting; although it also wasn't exactly what I was looking for as well. I think this movie is well worth the money I paid for it at Amazon, which was half the price of other places plus free shipping. I think if you want to watch some teenage romance this is the movie for you, but if you are looking for a movie about the actual crusade or something of the sort you are looking in the wrong place.

First the Dutch gave us those clogs and Vermeer and that tasty Edam cheese, and then followed up with Rutger Hauer and Famke Janssen and, of course, Ikea. To round off this very shallow breakdown of Dutch exports, here's this pretty neat movie CRUSADE: A MARCH THROUGH TIME (otherwise known as CRUSADE IN JEANS or KRUISTOCHT IN SPIJKERBROEK). Adapted from and apparently diverging a bit from Thea Beckman's novel Crusade in Jeans, it's an absorbing coming-of-age time travel adventure set primarily in the Middle Ages. I think it's well worth watching.

It's not often that one gets a second chance in life. Teenaged soccer player Rudolf Vega had just royally bollixed it up and cost his team and country the European Junior Cup Championship. But this is a sci-fi picture and it's encouraged that you roll with the unbelievable. Dolf's scientist mom has built a time machine, and it doesn't take too long for a distraught Dolf to have it in his mind that he can time travel to the immediate past and replay the championship match. He sneaks in the lab, punches in the time travel computations, and bollixes that up, too. A startled Rudolf Vega finds himself in the year 1212 and taking part in the Children's Crusade, a self-referred Army of Innocents composed of thousands of children journeying to Jerusalem's gates to convert heathens, infidels, and other naysayers of clogs, Edam cheese, and Ikea.

Stranded in the Middle Ages and alternatively regarded as a miracle worker and a minion of the Devil, Dolf and his contemporary perspective predictably clash with 13th Century thinking and beliefs. Although he starts out a sort of whiny kid, he rapidly enough straightens out his act, his modern day wits rapidly elevating him to the rank of squire. He ends up making a difference as the pilgrimage encounters arrogant lords, mass starvation, deadly disease, slavers, and a corrupt companion in the midst.

It's gratifying that the movie chooses to veer away from the kiddish shenanigans of, say, A KID IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT, a film which has its own niche and is more tot-friendly. CRUSADE carries more weight, takes its story more seriously and is keyed by the kid actors' quite sincere, very good performances. The two young leads, Joe Flynn and Stephanie Leonidas, are outstanding and create sparks together. In tone this movie is more in line with LIONHEART, another (but rather more boring) film about the Children's Crusade. However, CRUSADE tends to be more spirited and playful, the nature of the premise allowing for several cute and fun moments. You can't help but smile at the effect a Mars bar has on the raggedy children or at Dolf putting to good use that iPod of his, or as he calls it: a "troubadour in a box." Now, medieval children baking bread whilst singing along to Queen's "We Are the Champions" may be stretching things a bit too far, but I ate it up, brother!

Interwoven into the main story thread is a side arc involving Dolf's scientist mom frantically trying to get him back to the present, even as her backers threaten to shut her down. Thank goodness for historical records.

CRUSADE: A MARCH THROUGH TIME has its share of action, although it plays fair in that it doesn't portray the few warrior-minded children as being able to easily stand up to grown combatants. Dolf himself doesn't suddenly acquire massive martial skills. Instead he consistently relies on his 21st Century brains to problem solve. But, realistically, he can't save everyone, and he doesn't, and Joe Flynn is a savvy enough actor that he's able to roll with his character arc and demonstrate grief and growth and maturity. This movie - part science-fiction, part medieval adventure, and most improbable - still manages to deliver a powerful coming-of-age story.

I saw the film in its true entirety at a buddy's house, so I do want to echo one of the reviewers in that this version is only 100 minutes long, meaning that about half an hour of story content is missing here, resulting in a sometimes choppy feel. Thing is, far as I know, the film in its more than 2 hours running time is only available in Region 2, so I'm envying those lucky bastards who own an All Region DVD player. Regarding bonus stuff, there's not much in the way of that on this DVD. There's a brief, five-minute Making Of featurette and the film trailer. The Dutch evidently feel that they've contributed enough already. To which I say: Ikea rocks!