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Brave Heart film analysis
There are quite a number of films, which tend to tell a great and intriguing story, while others tell about epic tales. These have the ability of ensuring that human beings are unique and they should always be thankful for being alive. Braveheart is a film that premiered in the year 1995, and it received numerous positive accolades from all over the world. Sir William Wallace’s real life epic tale ‘Braveheart’ is about how he leads his people from the tyrannical and evil English king known as King Edward I. It should be known that the movie’s story is based on a historical and true record of William Wallace (McArthur 168). The movie has been successful in providing the audience with an entertaining and dramatic story that involves war, politics, and passion for freedom, as well as secret love. It is no wonder that the film received many awards including winning five Oscars at the prestigious Academy Awards.
There is not a lot of information about Wallace, only that an epic poem from ancient times had some information about him. It claims that Wallace ensured the unification of the various Scottish clans. They were able to win numerous battles that were fought against the British, but eventually Wallace was captured, and later executed after being tortured because he was believed to be a traitor. The dying cry that Wallace had when his body lay on a rack was ‘freedom’. This dying cry by Mel Gibson fitted quite well in Braveheart’s glorious sweep. It displayed an epic action whereby Hollywood tends to focus on epic action through grungy ferocity and classics, such as ‘The Road Warrior’. People will definitely remember the battle scenes that were violent, bloody, and frequent (Anderson147). From a technical viewpoint, the movie did a brilliant job of having masses of horses and men in order to create large-scale warfare. The warfare scenes were not chaotic as Gibson succeeded in ensuring that the archers, foot soldiers, as well as those on horseback were well coordinated.
Braveheart is a unique example of a movie that lay emphasis on the common man who used his courage to rise up against the existing tyranny. The common man was able to lead his helpless countrymen in a war that helped defeat the powerful King of England (Zumkhawala-Cook, 90). The movie has effectively demonstrated that strength is required when there is need to conquer such tasks that deal with ruthless individuals. Furthermore, Braveheart proved that people who are led with love and conviction will always have the ability to overcome the challenges that they face. William Wallace’s character in the scene where he was leading some warriors in war said that, “you have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do without freedom? Will you fight? (McArthur 175)” This scene had powerful music as well as strong sound effects that proved that Mel Gibson was a convicted director and actor, and thus the reason why Braveheart was successful.
King Edward I was the movie’s chief antagonist and was quite cunning and sly as compared to other characters. On the other hand, the Prince of Wales, Edwards’s son, is only interested in his country’s affairs, and this is the reason why he marries a woman from France. Most of the characters in Braveheart seemed to have come from hardened stock as witnessed from their interactions with each other. For example, there is a scene whereby Wallace met his childhood friend and as a way of entertaining themselves, they hurled stones as each other. This shows that the movie wanted people to be aware of some Scottish traditions, which might have been overlooked by the audience. Mel Gibson did a commendable job in directing the film by ensuring that almost all aspects of the lives of Scottish people was known. Braveheart is a tale that has steered Scottish heroism because of its political implication and historical accuracy (Clugston 14). The movie has proven to be a simplistic tale of evil versus good, and focused on situations whereby heroism exists in large quantities. However, the romance in the play did not assist in any way and should have been left out. No one can deny that the film was extremely entertaining and all the actors in the movie deserve applause.
In conclusion, the character played by Gibson was quite flamboyant and he even used some sly humor. He proved that he was a great strategist as displayed by the weapons he used as well coming up with new strategies. This assisted him in outsmarting and overpowering the English almost everywhere. The manner in which he led his men during battles deserves accolades as he made his acting skills be praised even more. Therefore, the movie proved that historical events are interesting even up-to-date, if they are well acted and directed. Braveheart is a movie whose memory and popularity will endure forever as it displayed uniqueness never seen in most Hollywood films.
Works Cited
Anderson, Lin. Braveheart: From Hollywood to Holyrood. New York: Luath Press Ltd, 1999. Print.
Clugston, R. Journey into literature. San Diego: Bridge point Education, Inc, 2010.Print.
McArthur, Colin. “Braveheart and the Scottish Aesthetic Dementia”. In Barta, Tony. Screening the Past: Film and the Representation of History. New York: Praeger, 1998.Print. pp. 167–187.
Zumkhawala-Cook, Richard . Scotland as We Know It: Representations of National Identity in Literature, Film and Popular Culture. Scotland: McFarland, Print.
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