SWORD OF GOD (2020)
(AKA THE MUTE)
Label: Film Movement
Release Date: October 20th 2020
Region Code: 1
Rating: Unrated
Audio/Video: The Sword of God (2018) arrives on DVD from Film Movement in anamorphic widescreen (2.39:1) with Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1 Surround audio with optional English subtitles. This is a bare-bones release, arriving in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Duration: 104 Minutes
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1)
Audio: Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Bartosz Konopka
Cast: Krzysztof Pieczynski, Karol Bernacki, Wiktoria Gorodecka, Jacek Koman, Jan Bijvoet, Jeroen Perceval
In the Polish Medieval thriller Sword of God (2018) (AKA The Mute) we have a holy order of Christian Knights tasked by their mad-king to bring Christianity to a group of pagan people who live on a far-away island. Along the way the order are shipwrecked with only the strong-willed Bishop Willibrord (Krzystof Pieczynski) and a knight later dubbed "Noname" (Karol Bernacki) surviving the perilous journey. Arriving on the shores of the island they discover that a previous expedition sent to the island have met with an unfortunate end. The duo journey further inland to a mountainous area where they are greeted by the pagan inhabitants of the island, who worship a pagan deity and are lead by a shaman village elder. After observing their strange pagan ceremonies Willibrord sees an opportunity to convert the tribe, challenging the shaman to a trial by fire, thereby demonstrating his Christian God's superiority to the pagan deity, resulting in the fiery death of the shaman.
The display certainly has an effect on the pagans, but it also has a dramatic affect on Noname, who begins to work against Willibrord's intimidation tactics, preferring to connect with these people with a more humane approach with causes division between the men as well as the pagans. Sword of God is a film that meditates on the idea of colonialism and begs the age-old question 'who are the real savages?'. It's not a new idea but the tale is well-told and potent in this Medieval setting.
I thought it was an interesting choice not to subtitle the natives foreign language the same way the knight's Polish language was, so we are as lost as the Christians about what is being said all around them, it puts you in a place of confusion that suits the story well. The natives themselves are striking characters to see, they wear rudimentary fur coverings and their faces and hair are often covered in white dry-mud, but they are not cannibal savages, they are an innocent people who have strange ceremonies, they are also peaceful bunch, standing in stark contrast to Willibrord who uses violence and intimidation as tools to convert them to the ways of Christianity. Eventually Noname is so put-off by the wickedness of the Bishop's actions that he rebels against him, silencing himself in a horrific wat as not to be complicit in the indoctrination of the natives.
The film has a fantastic look, an impressionistic bit of boldness bathed in cool muted colors that convey not only the wet and coldness of the island, but of the madness in the minds of the Christian soldiers. The visuals are hypnotic and eye-catching, bringing to mind kindred spirits Nicolas Winding Refn’s
Valhalla Rising (2009) or the more recent
Hagazussa (2019), it's a gorgeous looking film that is visually inventive and never dull.
The acting is top-notch, with Krzystof Pieczynski giving a fiery performance, looking a bit like an Donald Pleasance he brings a zealotous charisma to the intense character, his subordinate coming off as a bit more empathetic, but having his own magnetic pull over certain members of the tribe. The actors portraying the natives while speaking a language unknown certainly conveying the deeper wordless emotions being wrought by their conversion.
Sword of God (2018) is a tense examination of one culture forcing it's beliefs on another it deems inferior, I love the Middle Ages period setting, the visuals are stunning, and all the performances are excellent. If you're a fan of medieval stuff along the lines of Black Death (2010), Centurion (2010),
Valhalla Rising (2009), Hagazussa (2019) or even HBO's Game of Thrones I think this will gonna fall into that sweet-spot, it's not quite full-on horror but it has some horrific elements that are both harrowing and quietly brutal.
