My thoughts on the Beowulf movie.

[xiphias]

So,. the other day, temima and I saw the Beowulf movie, in IMAX 3-D.

I'm sure most of you have seen Hal Duncan's review of the movie, and, the thing is, while I cannot find a single thing to disagree with him about, I somehow feel that I enjoyed the movie more than he did.

See, here's the thing: in the movie, everything that, in the poem, somebody else also saw, Beowulf does, more-or-less. Oh, there are changes: Wiglaf, far from being a young warrior in his first battle when he faces the dragon, is Beowulf's oldest friend and comrade-in-arms -- the very first time we see Beowulf, he and Wiglaf are talking. And the battle against the dragon is entirely different. When fighting Grendel, Beowulf manages to wrap a big ol' chain around the monster's arm, and get it around a post, giving him the leverage he needs to rip off the arm, but he DOES rip off the arm and it IS a superhuman feat of strength.

But, the things which nobody but Beowulf sees? Those may be entirely different . . .

Beowulf is always in the company of other warriors, except once -- when he goes in to fight Grendel's mother. So, who's to say that his account is accurate? And that whole bit of the movie is the bit which most people seem to hate most, but which, to me, works the best.

The movie uses the source material of Beowulf to tell a different story than the poem. The movie creates a story from which the poem could have possibly been created -- but it's not the same story. The idea is that the poem is the story that Beowulf is letting people believe -- but it's not, entirely, the true story.

And I find that kind of subversion a lot of fun.

Comments

[gilmoure.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen Beowulf yet; looking forward to it.

While there were a lot of things wrong with 13th Warrior, I do like the basic idea behind it, as a way of explaining how the Beowulf tale could have come about. Fun stuff figuring out such things.

[lizatakys.livejournal.com]

Way, way fun. You can not resist, so don’t hold back. But what’s even more fun, is hollering your own family version that only you and the clan know.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

I like that kind of subversion, too.

[ckd]

So are you saying that Wiglaf is totally his cousin?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Naw, naw. I don't think that Beowulf goes for the bear-type -- he's TOTALLY into the twinks.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I rather liked it. It wasn't boring, which for me is the major factor in movies. (I am *not* a movie person!) It does not actually depart quite as far from the original (translation, I mean( as I'd thought, in my hazy high-school memories of reading it, and buried deep in the movie's website, Gaiman mays quite an intelligent defense of the changes he did make (movie website->About the Film->Production Notes). It basically boils down to "The story was written down after about 200 years of oral tradition and was written by monks; there are odd gaps which could be explained if the monks bowdlerized a bit. Here's one possible explanation that makes sense of the gaps." They're not claiming to have the One True Interpretation, just one not completely off-base.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

My thought on the Beowulf movie in IMAX 3-D: mutter, mutter, grumble...

A friend and I tried to see the show at the Reading store. Got there a little before 5, and the next two shows were sold out. We're trying again this Saturday, and this time we've gotten our tickets ahead of time.

[temima.livejournal.com]

That would be a good plan--the one we went to was sold out.

Also, bring earplugs.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

My ears thank you for the warning!

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

Midrash on Beowulf? The animation must be interesting, at least.