Arn: The Knight Templar
AKA: Arn - Tempelriddaren
Arn - Tempelridderen
Arn - Der Kreuzritter
Arn - Temppeliritari
Arn 1
(2007)
A Nunsploitation.Net review
The story of Arn Magnusson (played by Joakim Nätterqvist), a fictional Knight Templar from Jan Guillou's best-selling The Crusades Triology, is the subject of this multi-million dollar Swedish production. It's the biggest film in Swedish history.
It's unusual to find a nunsploitation film with such a big budget, and, to be fair, Arn: The Knight Templar isn't strictly a nunsploitation film, although the nunsploitation elements are strong and cannot be denied. Only half the story fits the genre, the story of Cecilia Argotsdotter (Sofia Helen), Arn's lover.
As the story goes, Arn suffers a fatal illness as a boy. When his parents pray for his recovery, Arn miraculously rises from the dead. The parents dedicate the boy's life to God and send him to be raised in a monastery. There he is trained combat by the friendly Brother Guilbert (Vincent Perez).
It sounds strange that a cloistered monk would be able to train Arn to be a great warrior. One day, the young Arn asks innocently "Why are you so good at fighting?" Brother Guilbert's cheerfulness leaves him. His face becomes drawn and sad, as though he were fighting back painful memories. He says, despondently, "I used to be better."
It turns out that before he was a monk, Brother Guilbert was a Knight Templar and fought in the crusades for the Holy Land.
As an adult, Arn is encouraged to leave the monastery, his training complete. He returns home to his family and falls in love with Cecilia Algotsdotter, who is promised to marry into a rival clan, the dastardly Skelders! When their love affair is discovered, they are each sentenced to a twenty-year imprisonment. Cecilia goes to a convent and Arn returns to the monastery. But it is not a happy reunion for Arn. Brother Guilbert and Father Henry have made arrangements for him to become a Knight Templar and spend his twenty years defending Jerusalem from the Muslims.
This really confused me because I thought the holy men were Arn's friends. Why would you send your friend off to war? Wouldn't the odds of his survival be greatly increased if he were to stay in the monastery copying manuscripts? What's the worst thing that could happen? A paper cut? Instead, he has to spend twenty years fighting Muslims???
Cecilia's stay in the convent is harsh. The Mother Superior, Mother Rikissa, is a harsh taskmaster. She is from a rival clan and she makes it her life's goal to snuff out Cecilia's every hope of happiness. She has her whipped and bled frequently.
The character is decidedly wicked and cruel. It's as though she were ripped from the script of The Magdalene Sisters for this film.
Cecilia soon finds an ally in a new arrival, Cecilia Ulfsdotter (Fanny Risberg), whom Mother Rikissa has nicknamed Blanka. Because Blanka spoke to Cecilia Algotsdotter on her first night in the cloister, Mother Rikissa has her stripped and whipped. Yes, my heart skipped a beat as I awaited this scene. Would this live up to nunsploitation standards. Indeed, it does!
Arn: The Knight Templar is a lavishly produced, beautifully made film with exciting and well choreographed sword fights and epic battles. The movie is adapted from three novels, which, as you can imagine, gives it a rushed feeling. The whole story is fast paced and it feels like a lot of material is skipped. The filmmakers seem to have crammed too much into one movie and the story would have benefited from being spread out into three films.
When Arn's 20-year tour of duty is over, it feels like the movie should end, but it continues with his life. He builds a house and spends his days with Cecilia until war calls him again. The Sverkers have allied themselves with Danes and threaten to overtake Sweden. A noticeably older and battle-weary Arn trains the men and rides into battle again.
This could have easily been saved for a sequel. Indeed, I understand they are making a sequel — Arn 2 — but I can't imagine what it's about. This movie covers Arn's entire life from birth to death.
Overall, Arn: The Knight Templar, is an excellent movie, despite the fact that the story feels rushed. The nunsploitation element is strong though it doesn't dominate the film. Think of it, if you must, as a Swedish Braveheart... but with nuns!
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