A Knight's Tale
A Knight's Tale
William Thatcher, a knight's peasant apprentice, gets a chance at glory when the knight dies suddenly mid-tournament. Posing as a knight himself, William won't stop until he's crowned tournament champion—assuming matters of the heart don't get in the way.
匚卂尺ㄥ reviewedFebruary 11, 2025
This typical story of a poor man's rise to glory and riches resembles the classic "Ivanhoe"... in absolutely no way at all. There's chivalry and love, to be sure, but you don't have to wait long to see that this is a modern adaption of the middle ages rather than a realistic depiction of a 1300s love story. Modern rock music is sewn flawlessly into the film, and the jousting arena with its spectators resembles a hockey stadium more than a medieval competition stadium. This is of course problematic. Whenever a modern connection appears, you find yourself thinking how inappropriate this is. The problem is easily solved, however. The film simply doesn't take itself seriously - it doesn't even attempt to make this a realistic depiction of the Middle Ages. It's a film about the American dream: "Rocky", set in the world of jousting. You find the foreign elements and anachronisms to be not an irritation, but rather... well, funny. Seeing "A Knight's Tale" from a modern perspective with medieval elements yields an amusing experience - a movie you can watch again and again without ever getting bored.
The acting is brilliant. Ledger, Bettany, Tudyk and Addy portray their characters with style and verve, not so much making you live yourself into the medieval world as much as making you identify yourself with the different characters. The hero, the bad guy, the love and the loyalty - all is done in a manner most convincing. Even the side cast plays amazingly. They'll make you laugh, cry and cheer... and then sing: "We will... we will rock you!"