Gory story of Czech folk hero suffers from an identity crisis
Jan Zizka, a beloved 15th-century Czech folk hero, looms large in the nation’s collective consciousness, a skilled, ingenious, one-eyed warrior who led peasants and rebels into battles that he never lost. In Prague, they’ve erected one of the largest bronze equestrian statues in the world in his honor, and now, the most expensive Czech film ever made, “Medieval,” depicts his early years, with the intense actor Ben Foster taking on the role of Zizka.
“Medieval” is written and directed by Czech filmmaker, actor and stuntman Petr Jakl. The story is in part by his father, Petr Jakl Sr., and it’s clear that father and son have both a tremendous reverence for the man, his mission and for his brutal, bloody reputation. If there’s anything to recommend about “Medieval,” it’s the daring, no-holds-barred stunt work, the battles a gory affair.
This is the third directorial effort for Jakl, whose second film “Ghoul” was the highest grossing horror film in Czech history. He brings that touch of the macabre to this tale of medieval warfare, following the path paved by “Game of Thrones” and “The Last Duel,” which plunged audiences into hyperrealistic and uberviolent battle scenes. Foster, who tends to disappear into his roles, approaches the bloodshed and Jan’s emotional journey with ferocity.
Michael Caine, playing Lord Boresh, takes us into the Kingdom of Bohemia at the turn of the 15th century. The plague has plunged Europe and the Catholic Church into
chaos, and there are two popes: one in Rome, one in France. Benevolent Bohemian King Wenceslas IV (Karel Roden) is trying to get to Rome to be crowned king of the empire, though his debts hold him back, while his scheming brother King Sigismund of Hungary (Matthew Goode) plots behind his back to steal the throne.
Boresh hires Jan as a mercenary to kidnap Lady Katherine (Sophie Lowe), the fiancée of Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), a Sigismund ally. Katherine also happens to be the niece of the king of France. It’s a bit of political gamesmanship, and the rest of the film unfolds as a series of ambushes and doublecrosses, mercenaries and peasants fighting to gain control of Katherine, who falls in love with her captor Jan, and his honor.
They are both deeply religious people, and through Jan, Katherine learns to harness her own agency, falling in love with his fight. It’s clear that Jakl wants “Medievel” to be a kind of Czech “Braveheart,” but the political machinations are so muddled that there’s no clear goal. It takes a little too long for the script to
get to “freedom.”
“Medieval” is caught between its lowbrow sword-and-splatter charms and grander ambitions. As a quick and dirty 90-minute corker, it could have been a nice and nasty slice of genre filmmaking, but Jakl aims for something more epic in scope, and the film drags. Not even the electrifying Foster is enough to zap some life into this tale of court intrigue and resulting clash of warriors.
The clarity of message gets hopelessly bogged down in the internecine conflicts of all the players, the script utterly convoluted even though the film is essentially just a bunch of guys killing each other while a pair of brothers squabbles over who gets to be king. What exactly Jan is fighting for feels dreadfully unclear, despite vague aphorisms like “honor, justice, freedom, faith, hope” intoned over the final frames. We’ll have to take your word for it.
MPAA rating: R (for strong and grisly violent content throughout, and some nudity)
Running time: 2:06
How to watch: In theaters Sept. 9