Search - Lovespell on DVD

A nice try (3.5 stars)

AMH | Seattle, WA | 07/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It really helps to know the full story of Tristran and Isult in order to enjoy this movie. For instance, there are several references to Tristan's victory over Marholt, which is both a monster and Isult's uncle. And there are a number of story elements that come up in the second half of the movie that probably don't make any sense unless you are already aware of them, like the second Isult that Tristran meets up with. I like the approach that the director takes to the material, an approach that can be quite successful when used with myth or folktale or stories set in the dark ages. It's a straightforward, almost simple-minded approach, without over-dramatization or clever narrative touches. This works very well in the first part of the movie, when it is a story of characters meeting and falling in love. But this approach can't handle the second half of the movie which needs a lot of exposition. And the final sequence, which unfortunately does get a laugh when it shouldn't, I think was botched in the editing room or something, because I think there is a way to make it work with all the same elements. (You know, how sometimes the difference between comedy and tragedy is slim.) Some movies that succeed in this approach are The Virgin Spring, The Song of Bernadette, and Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors. But Lovespell has fabulous art design and scenery. Green Ireland, old castles (exteriors and interiors), drinking cups and wooden chests. Seeing Richard Burton's red, soft-leather doublet is almost worth the movie itself!"