The Green Knight
Sep. 26th, 2021 09:58 am"What do you see?" asks a moribund King Arthur from his dais, pointing to the beefy, beery, balding knights who are feasting at the tables below.
"Legends," says his nephew Gawain.
It isn't easy growing up surrounded by legends...
Gawain himself is not a legend. He is not even a knight. He has no deeds to his name, no honour. He spends his days with his leman in the alehouse, like another Prince Hal- but a Hal without a Falstaff, and lacking Hal's cold, political brain...
But he does have a mother- an enchantress with power- and allies- in many realms- and she contrives to send him on a quest.
I nearly wrote "trip" instead of "quest", because everything that happens from this point on is decidedly trippy- but "quest" has more dignity.
Gawain meets bandits, the ghost of a saint, giants, a talking fox and an overly friendly couple who live- gypsies of time and space- in a 19th century gothick mansion...
What does it all mean? What does anything mean? And isn't that the wrong question, anyway?
David Lowery- the director- whose cv didn't suggest he had anything this fabulous in him- is currently working on a version of Peter Pan and Wendy- and that should be interesting too...
"Legends," says his nephew Gawain.
It isn't easy growing up surrounded by legends...
Gawain himself is not a legend. He is not even a knight. He has no deeds to his name, no honour. He spends his days with his leman in the alehouse, like another Prince Hal- but a Hal without a Falstaff, and lacking Hal's cold, political brain...
But he does have a mother- an enchantress with power- and allies- in many realms- and she contrives to send him on a quest.
I nearly wrote "trip" instead of "quest", because everything that happens from this point on is decidedly trippy- but "quest" has more dignity.
Gawain meets bandits, the ghost of a saint, giants, a talking fox and an overly friendly couple who live- gypsies of time and space- in a 19th century gothick mansion...
What does it all mean? What does anything mean? And isn't that the wrong question, anyway?
David Lowery- the director- whose cv didn't suggest he had anything this fabulous in him- is currently working on a version of Peter Pan and Wendy- and that should be interesting too...