Film: Arn: The Knight Templar
Release date: 20th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 113 mins
Director: Peter Flinth
Starring: Joakim Nätterqvist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgård, Milind Soman, Simon Callow
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Romance/War
Studio: High Fliers
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: UK/Sweden/Denmark/Norway/Finland/Germany
Based on the first two volumes of Jan Guillou’s trilogy of novels, Arn: The Knight Templar is a grand epic atypical of contemporary Scandinavian cinema. Europe is stepping onto Hollywood’s playing field - how does it fare?
Arn Magnusson (Natterqvist) grows up in a monastery, where he is taught the ways of swordsmanship and archery by a former Knight Templar. A natural, he is pulled into the political jostling between his family and a clan that rivals them for the throne of the country that will one day become Sweden.
After being exposed as having had pre-marital relations with his fiancée Cecilia (Helin), Arn is punished by being sent off to fight in the Crusades with the Knights Templar; while Cecilia is sentenced to twenty years in a harsh convent.
On Crusade, Arn encounters the great Muslim warrior Saladin (Soman), in whom he sees a kindred spirit. This warrior’s bond with the Christians’ enemy unsettles the Knights around him, and casts a cloud of doubt over Arn’s fate.
Can the courageous Knight survive the Holy War, and return to rescue his beloved?
This is the most expensive motion picture of all-time in Scandinavia, and it shows. But while the scope is Hollywood-esque, the sensibility retains a welcome European flavour. The visuals may be grand, with every scene feeling genuinely epic, but Arn: The Knight Templar also offers a convincing depiction of medieval grime that lends it just as much authenticity as Ridley Scott’s two recent excursions to cinematic Middle Ages (Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood), without being as distractingly showy.
That is not to say that Danish director Flinth has offered a film that is ‘down and dirty’ or ‘grittily realistic’, as some viewers might expect of a film from the continent that is (mostly) subtitled. This is mass market, commercial filmmaking, telling a traditional, familiar story in widescreen, and with the sound turned way up. Every penny of the estimated $30 million budget is on the screen, and the level of this film’s sophistication makes one wonder where all the money goes on the glut of $100 million-plus efforts America churns out every summer.
Perhaps Hollywood can learn from this film’s production, in the way this film has clearly learned from American blockbusters of previous eras. For while it has an undeniably European tint, Arn: The Knight Templar feels distinctly ‘Hollywood’ in many ways - the lush cinematography, all wide lenses and careful composition; the script’s deliberate pacing and clear three-act structure; and the tame love scene accompanied by a sweeping orchestral score. Flinth thinks big and shoots big and, if the film from time to time unconsciously emulates the tics of ‘lesser’ commercial Hollywood (occasionally thin characterisation, plot signposting), this particular meshing of European and American sensibilities is most definitely a new and intriguing cinematic experience.
Story-wise, the film is a mixed bag. Well-shot, highly visceral action enlivens a plot that, while engrossing, does not offer much in the way of genuine surprise. This is only a problem in the film’s opening act - a flashback from its enthralling opening sequence, which establishes the respective fates of Arn and Cecilia. At around forty minutes, this flashback - which serves only to illustrate what the viewer has already figured out for themselves - is something of a patience-tester. But with the gorgeous visuals on show, and a cast on commanding form, the story soldiers through and comes to life once back in the ‘present day’. Indeed, the scenes of the Knights Templar debating their tactics delight with their ‘old-fashioned’ spirit and verve. Even better are the ‘head-to-head’ scenes with Arn and Saladin - kindred spirits bound by a code of honour both resolutely believe in. Natterqvist and Soman play these scenes utterly straight, but without obvious macho posturing - the effect is near-electric, and a viewer almost wishes the intervening scenes move quicker, to get to the next Arn-Saladin duologue.
Not all of the narrative moves as smoothly, however. Indeed, while the Crusades-scenes engross, the subplot featuring the plight of poor Cecilia, trapped in an abusive convent, is more predictable, and does not always sit comfortably with the grandeur of the battle-sequences. And there are persistent niggles - such as the near disappearance of the excellent Stellan Skarsgaard and Michael Nyqvist after the flashback sequence; or a sluggish middle twenty minutes where Arn’s primary motivation (to get back to Cecilia) sets him at odds with the war raging around him, the clash robbing the narrative of some momentum.
But, as with the best of ‘spectacle cinema’, the film rides out the rougher patches and consistently delivers solid, relatively undemanding entertainment that thrills and excites. It may well be that Europe gets the hang of blockbuster movie-making, and bigger and better ‘event’ movies follow this film. If it comes to pass, Arn: The Knight Templar deserves to be remembered and recognised as a big first stride towards that future.
A bit uneven, perhaps, but this is an ambitious and enthralling film - a glorious warning shot to American cinema that will hopefully be followed by more direct hits. Europe has stepped onto Hollywood’s playing field, and has scored. JN
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