Druids (film)
Encyclopedia
Druids is a French
film
first released on 31 August 2001, directed by Jacques Dorfmann. It stars Christopher Lambert
, Klaus Maria Brandauer
, Inés Sastre
, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
, and Max von Sydow
.
The film tells the story of the Gallic
chieftain
Vercingetorix
, from his childhood through to his battle to save Gaul from Roman domination at the hands of Julius Caesar
. The film culminates with the decisive Battle of Alesia
.
The novel The Druid King
by Norman Spinrad
, is a derivative work of an early version of Druids script.
, which has not had a king for a long time. Guttuart goes to Gergovia, the capital of the Arvenes tribe, to attend a meeting of Gallic tribal chieftains. The young boy Vercingetorix, along with his friend the young girl Eponia, sneak into a large cavern where Celtill, Vercingetorix's father and chieftain of the Arvenes, hosts the meeting of chieftains with the intention of proclaiming himself king of all Gauls. When Celtill shows off the crown once worn by the old kings of Gaul, an arrow from two Roman spies (dressed as Gauls) hits Celtill in the back. Gobanittio, Celtill's brother, places Celtill under arrest while the Roman spies flee with the crown. Vercingetorix tries to rush in to help his father, but Guttuart prevents the young boy from intervening and explains that destiny requires Celtill to meet his fate. The young Vercingetorix, while watching his uncle burn his father alive, swears revenge.
Many years later, the grown up Vercingetorix (Christopher Lambert), having been educated among the druids, continues to seek revenge against his uncle. He and Guttuart go to a road being built by the Romans, but Guttuart flees upon seeing the approach of Julius Caesar
(Klaus Maria Brandauer) and an entourage of Roman legionaries. Caesar, who held the position of proconsul of Transalpine Gaul
, invites Vercingetorix and the Arvenes to participate in an invasion of Britain and gives Vercingetorix a horse to ride back to Gergovia. Upon his arrival at Gergovia, Vercingetorix first avenges his father's death by killing his uncle and then tells his tribe of Caesar's offer to give one half of the booty if the tribe joins in the expedition to Britain. At Bibracte
, capital of the Eduens
tribe, various chieftains gather to hear Caesar speak of his planned invasion of Britain. Dumnorix, chieftain of the Eduens, (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) is skeptical of the Romans and tells Caesar that he does not want to go, but Caesar takes his children as hostages anyway. Later, Vercingetorix is reunited with his childhood friend Eponia (Ines Sastre) in a private meeting with Caesar, who shows to Vercingetorix and Eponia the old crown of the kings of Gaul. Caesar suggests that the numerous Gallic tribes should be united under one king chosen by Rome, but Vercingetorix refuses Caesar's offer by saying that the king of the Gauls should be chosen by destiny. After Dumnorix attacks a Roman garrison, Caesar orders Vercingetorix to capture him. When Vercingetorix confronts Dumnorix, the latter tells him that it was the Romans who orchestrated Celtill’s death. Two Roman officers have been following Vercingetorix, and one of them kills Dumnorix instantly with a sling stone to the forehead. Vercingetorix kills the Roman who slew Dumnorix and sends the other one back to Caesar, who learns that he has made an enemy with someone whom he would rather have as an ally.
Vercingetorix, after being elected as leader of the Arvernes at Gergovia, uses scorched earth tactics against the Romans, but he reluctantly spares the city of Avaricum
from the torch. Caesar orders the massacre of Avaricum’s inhabitants and leads his army to Gergovia to attack Vercingetorix and the Arvernes. The Eduens also arrive at Gergovia, but they abruptly end their alliance with Rome because of Caesar's massacre of Avaricum. A terribly disappointed Caesar curses all the Gauls and his army is forced to retreat. While the Gallic chieftains elect Vercingetorix as commander-in-chief of a united Gallic army, Caesar forms a pact with the fearsome Teutons at the Rhine River. The Teutons ambush two of the Arvernes and the presence of the Teutons concerns Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix goes to Alesia but Caesar also arrives there with a large army to besiege the city. During this Battle of Alesia
, the Romans quickly build a circle of fortifications around the city and this forces Vercingetorix to wait inside the city for a Gallic relief army to arrive. Problems in the election of a commander for this relief army delays its arrival at Gergovia. When the relief army finally arrives, Vercingetorix orders that the Gauls simply surround the Romans, who are now trapped in their own fortifications, and not attack them. Caesar is aware that his army will starve to death if the Gauls do not attack, but he is confident that destiny will play its part. The Gauls clamour for one big battle and Vercingetorix reluctantly agrees to lead them in the fight. Gallic warriors rush towards the Roman fortifications, but the Romans shoot them down with volleys of arrows and javelins. When Caesar unleashes the Teutons into battle, all was lost for the Gauls and they withdraw amidst the large field of dead bodies. Vercingetorix resigns in the fate of the conquered Gauls and rides out to give himself up to the Romans at their fort, where he lays down his weapons and kneels before Caesar.
The film ends with Guttuart’s narration that Caesar was assassinated in the Ides of March of 44 B.C. on the steps of the Roman Senate
and that Vercingetorix, imprisoned in Rome, was executed two years earlier by order of Caesar.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
first released on 31 August 2001, directed by Jacques Dorfmann. It stars Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Klaus Maria Brandauer is an Austrian actor, film director, and professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna.-Personal life:...
, Inés Sastre
Inés Sastre
Inés Sastre is a Spanish model and actress.-Early life:Sastre's career started at the age of 12, when she was selected for a fast-food commercial with McDonald's. Her first movie appearance occurred in 1988 in El Dorado by Carlos Saura. In 1989, she was awarded the look of the year by the Elite...
, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu was a French actor.-Biography:Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu studied theater and film at the Sorbonne Paris III and began his career in film at the age of 25 by making appearances with acclaimed directors...
, and Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
.
The film tells the story of the Gallic
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
chieftain
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars....
, from his childhood through to his battle to save Gaul from Roman domination at the hands of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. The film culminates with the decisive Battle of Alesia
Battle of Alesia
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe...
.
The novel The Druid King
The Druid King
The Druid King is a historical novel by American novelist Norman Spinrad. The novel is set during the Gallic Campaigns by Julius Caesar. The main protagonist of the novel is Vercingetorix and the plot follows his rise to power to become king of the Gauls and his eventual surrender to Caesar at the...
by Norman Spinrad
Norman Spinrad
Norman Richard Spinrad is an American science fiction author.Born in New York City, Spinrad is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco,...
, is a derivative work of an early version of Druids script.
Synopsis
In the year 60 B.C. a group of Druids, including the arch-druid Guttuart (Max von Sydow), witness the passing of a comet and interpret it as the sign of the coming of a king for their country GaulGaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, which has not had a king for a long time. Guttuart goes to Gergovia, the capital of the Arvenes tribe, to attend a meeting of Gallic tribal chieftains. The young boy Vercingetorix, along with his friend the young girl Eponia, sneak into a large cavern where Celtill, Vercingetorix's father and chieftain of the Arvenes, hosts the meeting of chieftains with the intention of proclaiming himself king of all Gauls. When Celtill shows off the crown once worn by the old kings of Gaul, an arrow from two Roman spies (dressed as Gauls) hits Celtill in the back. Gobanittio, Celtill's brother, places Celtill under arrest while the Roman spies flee with the crown. Vercingetorix tries to rush in to help his father, but Guttuart prevents the young boy from intervening and explains that destiny requires Celtill to meet his fate. The young Vercingetorix, while watching his uncle burn his father alive, swears revenge.
Many years later, the grown up Vercingetorix (Christopher Lambert), having been educated among the druids, continues to seek revenge against his uncle. He and Guttuart go to a road being built by the Romans, but Guttuart flees upon seeing the approach of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
(Klaus Maria Brandauer) and an entourage of Roman legionaries. Caesar, who held the position of proconsul of Transalpine Gaul
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
, invites Vercingetorix and the Arvenes to participate in an invasion of Britain and gives Vercingetorix a horse to ride back to Gergovia. Upon his arrival at Gergovia, Vercingetorix first avenges his father's death by killing his uncle and then tells his tribe of Caesar's offer to give one half of the booty if the tribe joins in the expedition to Britain. At Bibracte
Bibracte
Bibracte, a Gaulish oppidum or fortified city, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture,In 58 BC, at the Battle of...
, capital of the Eduens
Aedui
Aedui, Haedui or Hedui , were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger , in today's France. Their territory thus included the greater part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or and Nièvre.-Geography:The country of the Aedui is...
tribe, various chieftains gather to hear Caesar speak of his planned invasion of Britain. Dumnorix, chieftain of the Eduens, (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) is skeptical of the Romans and tells Caesar that he does not want to go, but Caesar takes his children as hostages anyway. Later, Vercingetorix is reunited with his childhood friend Eponia (Ines Sastre) in a private meeting with Caesar, who shows to Vercingetorix and Eponia the old crown of the kings of Gaul. Caesar suggests that the numerous Gallic tribes should be united under one king chosen by Rome, but Vercingetorix refuses Caesar's offer by saying that the king of the Gauls should be chosen by destiny. After Dumnorix attacks a Roman garrison, Caesar orders Vercingetorix to capture him. When Vercingetorix confronts Dumnorix, the latter tells him that it was the Romans who orchestrated Celtill’s death. Two Roman officers have been following Vercingetorix, and one of them kills Dumnorix instantly with a sling stone to the forehead. Vercingetorix kills the Roman who slew Dumnorix and sends the other one back to Caesar, who learns that he has made an enemy with someone whom he would rather have as an ally.
Vercingetorix, after being elected as leader of the Arvernes at Gergovia, uses scorched earth tactics against the Romans, but he reluctantly spares the city of Avaricum
Avaricum
Avaricum was an oppidum in ancient Gaul, near what is now the city of Bourges. Avaricum, situated in the lands of the Bituriges, was the largest and best-fortified town within their territory, situated on very fertile lands...
from the torch. Caesar orders the massacre of Avaricum’s inhabitants and leads his army to Gergovia to attack Vercingetorix and the Arvernes. The Eduens also arrive at Gergovia, but they abruptly end their alliance with Rome because of Caesar's massacre of Avaricum. A terribly disappointed Caesar curses all the Gauls and his army is forced to retreat. While the Gallic chieftains elect Vercingetorix as commander-in-chief of a united Gallic army, Caesar forms a pact with the fearsome Teutons at the Rhine River. The Teutons ambush two of the Arvernes and the presence of the Teutons concerns Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix goes to Alesia but Caesar also arrives there with a large army to besiege the city. During this Battle of Alesia
Battle of Alesia
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe...
, the Romans quickly build a circle of fortifications around the city and this forces Vercingetorix to wait inside the city for a Gallic relief army to arrive. Problems in the election of a commander for this relief army delays its arrival at Gergovia. When the relief army finally arrives, Vercingetorix orders that the Gauls simply surround the Romans, who are now trapped in their own fortifications, and not attack them. Caesar is aware that his army will starve to death if the Gauls do not attack, but he is confident that destiny will play its part. The Gauls clamour for one big battle and Vercingetorix reluctantly agrees to lead them in the fight. Gallic warriors rush towards the Roman fortifications, but the Romans shoot them down with volleys of arrows and javelins. When Caesar unleashes the Teutons into battle, all was lost for the Gauls and they withdraw amidst the large field of dead bodies. Vercingetorix resigns in the fate of the conquered Gauls and rides out to give himself up to the Romans at their fort, where he lays down his weapons and kneels before Caesar.
The film ends with Guttuart’s narration that Caesar was assassinated in the Ides of March of 44 B.C. on the steps of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and that Vercingetorix, imprisoned in Rome, was executed two years earlier by order of Caesar.
Reviews
SomethingAwful.com voted the film -45 using their voting system, which is slightly worse than their average rating of around -35 to -40. Their summation of the film consisted of the word "wig" (under both "for" and "against") and the review comprised five pages of screenshots of Lambert as Vercingetorix, displaying said hairpiece.External links
- http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1807578300&cf=info&intl=us - Yahoo! Movies entry
- http://www.tribute.ca/synopsis.asp?m_id=3354 - Tribute.ca synopsis and release information