Review of Druids

Druids (2001)
6/10
Definitely not a Hollywood epic
5 December 2001
First of all, I'd like to say that I saw the original version of the movie, the title of which was much more appropriate ("Vercingétorix"), as this movie focuses on the Celtic hero and not on Druids. The movie uses a lot of fancy French words, and their English translation might seem odd to you, but the French version is really not bad! Therefore, you might not enjoy this movie if compared to, say, Gladiator. For your viewing pleasure, forget you ever saw Gladiator and Braveheart.

And remember that the Celts were known for their eloquent wording and gestures, so do not rant about how 'fake' the acting was. The thing is, the movie is pretty realistic in this sense, so realistic in fact that it's almost a documentary, and a bit dull for those of you expecting attractive hunks driven by raging passion. Some of those who have seen it said the actors, especially Lambert, had bad hair in the movie, as though they were rock stars of the eighties. Hello, people, this is not a Hollywood film where the hero has to look cleancut and shaven and nicely dressed! This IS how the Celts living in Gaul looked like, so get over it! There were some nice scenery in the movie, though they were not exploited to add romanticism and grandeur. The one thing I'm really glad about is that the two 'love' stories in the film were NOT used to spice up the mood. They were discrete and original, though some may criticize the lack of emotion shown by the characters. The costumes were a bit fake, they were obviously made of cheap material, especially the uniforms of the Romans, but I figured that's more historically accurate than those shiny, clean, perfectly sown costumes in Hollywood epics. The soundtrack is beautiful, but I know that only because I have it on CD. Sadly, it's almost non-existent in the movie, and the best song on the soundtrack is not even used in the film! I fail to undertand why the soundtrack hadn't been exploited in the movie; it would have clearly played a major role in the (occasionally present) emotional manipulation of the audience! If you're interested in Celtic heroes, do watch it, it's the only film about Vercingetorix and it's not THAT bad!
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