Black Death (2010)

Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is given the task of learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.

Director:

Christopher Smith

Writer:

Dario Poloni (screenplay)

Stars:

Eddie Redmayne, Kimberley Nixon, Sean Bean

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Redmayne	...	Osmund
Daniel Steiner	...	Monk
David Warner	...	Abbot
Kimberley Nixon	...	Averill
Tobias Kasimirowicz	...	Grimbold
Emun Elliott	...	Swire
Sean Bean	...	Ulrich
Johnny Harris	...	Mold
Andy Nyman	...	Dalywag
Tygo Gernandt	...	Ivo
John Lynch	...	Wolfstan
Jamie Ballard	...	Griff
Keith Dunphy	...	Witch Finder
Marianne Graffam	...	Suspected Witch
Tim McInnerny	...	Hob

Storyline

Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life, a mission that pulls him toward a village ruler who has made a dark pact with evil forces.

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Plot Keywords:

village | monk | plague | forest | bubonic plague | 

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Taglines:

In an age of darkness one man will face the ultimate battle against evil.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

11 June 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Crna smrt

Filming Locations:

Blankenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,692 (USA) (11 March 2011)

Gross:

$22,045 (USA) (8 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Egoli Tossell Film, HanWay Films, Zephyr Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andy Nyman and Tim McInnery have both worked previously with director Christopher Smith on the film "Severance".

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Goofs

When Osmund is pursuing Langiva into the forest, a large drop of water appears to be hanging in mid air, showing that it is clinging to the lens of the camera being used to film the scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Wolfstan: The fumes of the dead are in the air like poison. The plague, more cruel and more pitiless than war, descended upon us. A pestilence, that would leave half of our kingdom dead. Where did it come from? What carried its germ. The priests told us it was God's punishment. For what sin? What commandment must we break that could earn this? No, we knew the truth. This was not God's work, but devilry. Or witchcraft. But our task, to hunt down a demon, was God's cure.

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Connections

References The Seventh Seal (1957)

User Reviews

Good exploration of the nature of religion

While some may see this movie as having a not so subtle undertone of 'the greatness of Christianity', I saw it as an interesting exploration of religion itself. The characters in this movie all differ in their religious views, allowing you to identify with them based on your own religious persuasion. There is the fanatic, the believer, the non believer, the good, the bad, the in between etc.

The plot itself helps this journey, as the characters move from one setting to a vastly different one, all the while suffering the same basic experiences. Their initial motivations, in addition to their reactions to these experiences, all differ along the lines of their beliefs, and help either strengthen or weaken those beliefs. This movie shows quite well, that people's attitudes to religion have not changed in hundreds of years. God is still used to explain things we do not understand, and fear and "miracles" are still used to recruit and keep believers.

Human behaviour also has not changed much. Even faced with the 'black death', one of the worst pandemics in human history, people still found reason to divide and fight amongst themselves assigning blame and punishment rather than band together. The way these themes fit in so appropriately with the medieval setting, makes it all the more surprising that they can still be applied in today's world. All in all, a good movie for open minded people because although the film explores these themes, it makes no conclusion. That is left to the audience to determine who was right, who was justified and who was wrong; who was good and who was evil.