The Green Knight (2021) dir. David Lowery
Venue: Harrie Massey LT
Strange, sensuous and rather spooky, Dev Patel gives a fantastic performance in David Lowery’s original interpretation of the legendary medieval tale.
One Christmas, at a banquet with King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the gigantic Green Knight issues a challenge: whoever can strike him shall claim his weapon, but in a year’s time, that same blow will be returned to whomever issued it. Quiet, watchful and determined to be noticed, Sir Gawain takes up that challenge by decapitating the Green Knight in one fell swoop.
What follows is an extraordinary year of exploring the lingering certainty of death and glory, not least with his lover Essel, who questions the need for greatness at all.
The stunning cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo draws you into this other world of folklore, where strange things are possible.
‘When you go, your footprints will fill with grass. Moss shall cover your tombstone, and as the sun rises, green shall spread over all, in all its shades and hues. This verdigris will overtake your swords and your coins and your battlements and, try as you might, all you hold dear will succumb to it. Your skin, your bones. Your virtue.’
Runtime: 2h9m
