Le frère du guerrier (2002)

Director:

Pierre Jolivet

Writers:

Pierre Jolivet (writer)
Simon Michaël (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 2002 (France)

Plot:

13th century France. To live, to survive, requires weapons. Which do you choose? Weapons of war, which give the power to punish and kill...

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Vincent Lindon	...	Thomas
Guillaume Canet	...	Arnaud
Mélanie Doutey	...	Guillemette
François Berléand	...	Le curé
Brunelle Lemonnier	...	Hilde
Frédéric Lacave	...	Benoît
Thierry Perkins-Lyautey	...	Le chef des brigands
Roch Leibovici	...	Le Chauve
Manuel Le Lièvre	...	Le Bossu
Christophe Vandevelde	...	Le Casque
Augustin Legrand	...	Le Moustachu
Anthony Decadi	...	Le Giton
Philippe Fretun	...	Le Créancier
Franck Gourlat	...	Ademar
Arlette Thomas	...	L'abbesse

Also Known As:

The Warrior's Brother (International: English title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U

Company:

Bac Films

Beautifully filmed, but what was the point?

The medieval France which appears in this agreeable adventure story is superficially convincing. The first sequence is confused, dark and violent: the second spacious, bright and isolating, and that contrast underpins a film which has been excellently served by its cinematography. But after a while irritating doubts begin to surface. They start from trivial things: how does an insane man shut up in a stable for weeks emerge with the same beard as before? They spread to wider issues like the inevitable headache of dialogue (not, apparently, an issue here) and finally convinced me that these Middle Ages are no more than fantasy. Nasty, dirty, brutish and short perhaps, but only when and as far as they want to be - and I find it hard to believe that a peasant girl would dare be as insouciant as Guillaumette is about church property although the incident is refreshing enough. Not that fantasy necessarily matters, although a lurking undercurrent of xenophobia was distinctly uncomfortable in these days of paranoia about 'security' (no doubt justifiable in whatever century this was set in, but why should the brigands be so foreign-typed)?

As a beautiful object, however, with a dark undercurrent and a story which keeps the interest, it's worth watching.