Medieval: An Uninspiring Film About an Inspiring Character

Medieval, a film directed by Petr Jakl, is a story of famed Czech warrior Jan Zizka (Ben Foster). Focusing upon his earlier life as a paid mercenary, in a time rife with monarchical corruption, Jan struggles to create order in a time of chaos.

A Man Becoming Legend

This was my first exposure to the legendary Zizka. From what I can gather, he looks to be a fascinating character. Right from the get go Foster’s portrayal introduces us to a character we might not expect to see in such a savage and brutal time. Zizka is a stoic, thoughtful, quiet man that seems to lack a lot of the ignorance one would expect from soldiers of the time.

The story takes place in the early 1400’s, when the Holy Roman Empire was without an emperor. Half brothers King Sigismund of Hungary (Matthew Goode) and King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia (Karel Roden) plot and scheme against each other to claim their God given “right” to the throne of the empire.

Zizka is hired into service of Wenceslas, by the dutiful Lord Boresh (Michael Caine), to kidnap Lady Katherine (Sophie Lowe), the fiancée of the unscrupulous Lord Rosenburg (Til Schweiger), who’s ambitions have no bounds. The job is complicated when Zizka falls in love with Katherine and his family becomes impacted by his mission.

As the warring monarch’s armies lay waste to surrounding villages, Jan’s alliances to either crown become outmoded. He begins to realize his real strength lies with ordinary people and his leadership begins to take on a whole new meaning.

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In All Honesty…

I found Medieval very perplexing.

With scenes of beautiful cinematography and one truly fantastic battle scene, there was a lingering sense of disconnect throughout.

Though I liked the character depicted by Foster overall, Jan came off unemotional at times when emotion was more than warranted. He decidedly had a sense of good morality and stoicism not seen in many historical figures, but the severity of his stoicism poisoned any chance of us really connecting to him as a human being.

There was no chemistry or a sense of love between Katherine and Jan. Their relationship seemed to just be something of convenience. Katherine’s portrayal also came off half hearted and boring. Katherine’s presence gave no whisper of necessity in the film except as a plot point to move the story forward.

Not one of the characters really stood out from another. There is this white guy and that white guy; this King and that King but none of them are really compelling. I longed for a stand out villain seething with biting spite and ceaseless narcissism, which Goode could’ve adeptly portrayed if there were something for him to work with. I wanted to feel the energy between Jan and Katherine as soon as they saw one another, and also a developed, strong female role in Katherine. Instead she was no more impressive than any other servant girl in the Kingdom.

Source: The Avenue Entertainment

Also, while comparing itself to films such as Gladiator and Braveheart, Medieval lacks the heart, urgency and courage of either. There are really no lofty highs or crippling lows for Zizka. There are no unavoidable, earth shattering stakes stoked throughout the story that truly drives Zizka to his breaking point.

Impressively, Zizka himself supposedly was a warlord who never lost a battle. Surely there are stories in his life with more intrigue and provocation. Foster carries the character with dignity, Zizka just needed more to do and deal with.

Nonetheless, I didn’t dislike the film. It absolutely has its merits and Zizka could be an exciting character to follow. As it is though, this particular film is just “there”, never rising to any breathtaking crescendo. The production quality is excellent and I greatly appreciated the filmmaker’s choice to leave out much of the brutality against women of the time.

Medieval stands as a primer of sorts for a part of European history that many of us never knew about. The stars will most likely drive people to see it, but they are tragically underutilized and audiences most likely won’t come away inspired.