before the capulets

it's been a while since i've posted a film review here. kasi, for sometime, wala akong napag-interesan na panoorin. kahit sa tv na lagi namang bukas pero ginagawa ko lang pampa-ingay sa room ko while i'm busy surfing the net or updating my blog. nothing really catches my fancy dahil karamihan mga paulit-ulit na palabas. until last wednesday. mbc2 showed something that caught my attention. a beautiful film called tristan and isolde (pronounced isolda).

at first, what caught my eyes was the fabulous cinematography vividly capturing the serenely beautiful landscape of the english countryside. pag ito ang setting, interesado ako talaga. lalo yong mga rugged coastline ng scotland, ireland and the cornwall area where the medieval setting was shot. luv it!

but what kept me glued to the tv was the story. in fact, it was a mistake delaying my dinner dahil hindi ko na naisip kumain until the film was over - at inabot ng 11pm! gandang-ganda kasi ako sa love story ni tristan and isolde told against the backdrop of the war between england and ireland noong early middle ages (the film site said the story occured sometime in the 5th century).

in the story, tristan of eragon is a valiant army of britain led by his uncle, lord marke. in one of the encounters with the irish army, he was thought to have died. kaya along with the other dead, nilagay sila sa boat and was sent afloat to the seas. tapos arrows with fire are shot to the boat para masunog yong boat and supposedly incinerate the dead body. traditional burial rites of the medieval ages.

kaso, his boat washed ashore sa ireland where the princess isolde discovered him na buhay pa pala. the princess nursed him back to health, hanggang they fell in love although isolde never disclosed her real identity to tristan. then one day, tristan had to escape the temporary caring of isolde dahil natunugan na ng irish army na may nakapasok na english soldier sa teritoryo nila. so tristan went back to cornwall kasi hindi sumama si isolde despite his begging.

fast forward and by some twist of fate, britain sent a team of warriors to ireland, kasama si tristan, to compete in a gladiator-type competition organized by the irish king para daw mag-initiate ng unity between the warring clans. although that was just a ploy para ma-invade nila (irish) ang english army. anyway, the english team led by tristan won the competition. ang premyo is the princess na mapapangasawa ni lord marke who will soon be king. imagine tristan's shock and grief nang makita nyang si isolde pala yong princess!

and imagine the suffering of the two lovers who had to put what's right above their heart's yearnings. lalo si tristan who owed lord marke his life. naputulan ng kamay si lord marke sa pagsi-save kay tristan noong bata pa sya. and when tristan was orphaned, lord marke raised him as his own son. kaya hindi nya pwedeng agawin si isolde from him dahil nakita nyang minahal agad ni lord marke si isolde.

so the wedding went on. kaya lang, hindi rin napigil ang dalawa. and what followed were secret meetings of infidelity between the lovers. at this point, naiinis ako sa kanila. kasi the king was too good and magnanimous para lokohin nila. the king even made tristan his second (in line to the throne). he even confided to tristan na may kutob daw syang may ka-affair si isolde. ganda nong scene.

the story ended when their affair was discovered - thanks to the orchestration ng mga kontrabida na ang hinahabol ay yong throne ni king mark. sinabay sa coronation nya ang atake ng mga irish army led by the father ni isolde (which, of course is the biyenan ni king mark). just before the bloody battle started, king marke let go of isolde and tristan. pinag-tapat kasi ni isolde kay king yong kwento nila ni tristan. and the king, being a righteous man, gave them the freedom. kaso, tristan felt indebted to his king kaya sya naman ang hindi sumama kay isolde.

then the war raged on. at syempre, tristan saved the day and prevented the irish from taking over the castle. kaya lang, he was severely wounded. ang ganda-ganda ng closing scene where tristan was dying by the river at doon sya iniyakan ni isolde. if this scene wouldn't touch your heart, i don't know what will. better yet, if this story wouldn't touch your heart, pusong-bato ka siguro.

produced by ridley scott and wonderfully directed by kevin reynolds, this film stars james franco (from the spiderman series) who successfully delivered the intense and passionate tristan on screen. and so was the beautiful sophia myles who was very convincing as the love-torn isolde. the great king marke was played by rufus sewell (the legend of zorro, helen of troy, a knight's tale among his many other films).

aside from good acting and awesome cinematography, gustong-gusto ko rin yong production design na talagang nag-effort to bring the 5th century to life. costumes, settings and even the swords na ginamit hindi mo matatawaran ang authenticity. kevin was also very good in mounting whatever scenes - from dramatic highlights to the battle scenes. because of this film, i'd forgive him for that mega-disaster waterworld in '95 that brought kevin costner down.

according to wikipedia, the story of tristan and isolde was a legend in the english folklore even pre-dating the legend of king arthur. in fact, dito raw kinuha ang inspiration ng story ni guenevere and lancelot. originally though, ito pala ay isang three-act opera penned by richard wagner and premiered in 1865. dito kinuha ni ridley scott ang adaptation nya for the film.

if you haven't seen it, then here i go again recommending one good film worth the 90 minutes or so you'll spend in front of the tv. mas maganda siguro on dvd where the love scenes would be kept intact. syempre hindi pwede sa mbc2 yon. but with or without the love scenes, i know you'd agree with me that it lived up to it's tagline that says 'before romeo and juliet, there was tristan and isolde'.