Braveheart by Randall Wallace - 9 out of 10

Braveheart by Randall Wallace
9 out of 10


To see this acclaimed, popular motion picture, winner of five Oscars, including for Best Picture and Director, with only three weeks to go before Brexit - which looks increasingly as a no deal one - would invite the viewer - this one has seen it before - to muse over what has changed in the relationship between Scotland and England.

Evidently, they are no longer at war with each other, as is the case in Braveheart, but they still se their future differently, with Scotland voting to stay in the EU and eventually to separate from Britain, and England to exit...most likely in an acrimonious manner, in three weeks time.
If this motion picture is indeed a classic, it is also unnerving to know that it takes liberties and the scope of the narrative could make it somewhat difficult to digest for some cinephiles, such as this one, who has worked with English people and has found them to be wonderful, almost all of them and not the savages, cruel monsters that we see in Mel Gibson's take on them.

Granted, things have changed and it is probably no longer debatable, the point of view that I hold that the British Empire at its majestic point has done a lot to bring a better life for many lands is not just antiquated, but dead wrong.
If we refer to the story of William Wallace aka impressive Mel Gibson, who although winner for best film and director, should have also been at least nominated as an actor, that is emotional, gripping and if historically hard to prove of not imagined, it is still compelling.

Wallace comes out of this as the ultimate hero, someone we need to see more than any Avenger, dedicated to his lover, magic Murron, imperial in his revenge for her awful death, condemned for trying to defend herself against attempted rape...it seems that there are no documents though to probe that Wallace has ever been married, but the love story is magnetic nevertheless.
Longshanks aka King Edward I is the legitimate villain to the Wallace Superhero, Ubermensch, and the soldiers and officers he leads and sends into battle are the epitome of the despicable conquistadors.

Alas, this seems for this viewer to be the weak point of the movie.
The side of the English is too vile and abject to be believable.

True, there is more complexity on the Scottish side.
They have among them traitors, Robert the Bruce and especially his father would represent the bad apples, perhaps the reason why the good war is lost...I guess there was no need for spoiler alerts there...we all know that Scotland is part of Britain today and has been for centuries, although they could soon take an alternative road, with the calamity of Hard Brexit and all...