Le frère du guerrier (2002)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

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

Canet and Lindon:brothers in arms?

Back to the Middle Ages ,but as the precedent user wrote ,what's the point?It was already questionable in "le retour de Martin Guerre" ,an overrated movie which used the era as an "exotic" background for was finally a story which could happen nowadays.

"Le frère du guerrier" ,on the other hand ,seems at first sight less spectacular,less academic,depicting a rural landscape,like Bertrand Tavernier in "la passion Béatrice":only the first sequence recalls the heyday of the French swashbuckler in the late fifties/early sixties ,some of which are still entertaining today.

The main problem with "le frère du guerrier" is :is this entertaining?and if it is not,is there much food for thought? Entertaining is not a word I would choose :the movie definitely lacks tempo and the characters meander endlessly in an hostile environment."Le frère du guerrier" fills its quota of blood and sex ,even when it gets tougher,it never succeeds in exciting .The actors are never given a chance to move us ,even in the last sequence.

Now for the "intellectual" side (if there is any):like "la passion Béatrice" ,the most interesting subject is the stranglehold religion had on everything:in the Middle Ages culture was to be found in the nunneries and the cathedrals .But it's only skimmed over and even refuted by the ridiculous "latin" sequence.At least,Tavernier's hero,coming back from the crusade and having lost his faith was a strong character superbly portrayed by Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu.Neither Canet nor Lindon have his talent and the movie is finally a disappointment.