Chivalry is not dead in Matthew Ninaber’s movie, A Knight’s War. When not everyone lives by that code, I wonder how Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber) is going to survive. He’s off to save not a princess, but a woman said to reshape the world.
When Avalon’s (Kristen Kaster) morals are not up to the code, just what she represents has everyone quaking in their boots. Even the soldier has his own problems. Although she’s no lovely lady-in-waiting, she has a fire I like. He’s trying his best to show her “how to be nice,” and thankfully what’s presented isn’t like in Shrek. Instead, it concerns how she can be tamed than trained. She’s certainly a spitfire, and Kaster is great at showing it.
When the new gods fear what she can represent because she has red hair, that’s because they are concerned about an age-old prophecy which will spell doom for them. And so, they have “whispered to the hearts of men is to burn any child matching the terms of the words uttered.”
When this work draws from the darkest Anglo-Saxon traditions, there’s much to like. Every moment spent outdoors is moody and atmospheric. The fantastical setting of this work allows us to disregard any historical inaccuracies. Although this film is not clear if it is set during the Dark Ages or the High Middle Ages, that’s a detail I kept wondering about. That’s because plate mail armour was not in use until the late period.
Nitpicks aside, what I love about is who this knight must fight in order to escape the underworld. The script hints at a similar approach to the trials seen in Gawain and the Green Knight. They are designed to test both Bhodie and Avalon. Although the circumstances leading to these encounters are different, I recognised the significance.
Also, the humour injected into the second challenge was chuckle-worthy. And when he is able to save the woman from losing her soul, he better have more than simple healing salves! That’s because he believes in the prophecy. He doesn’t care if it will bring destruction or hope. As for whether this film has an Arthurian connection, I’d have rewatch this film one scene at a time to find out. When the female lead’s name is Avalon, I cannot help but wonder.
3½ Stars out of 5
A Knight’s War Movie Trailer
