Recently, there is a movie that has quietly caught fire, that is, Mark Damon's new film "The Last Duel". This well-made historical film cost more than $100 million.
Whether it is the costume of the film, or the plot, performance and core theme, it is quite commendable. Although the overseas box office is not ideal, the film is obviously going straight to the direction of next year's Oscars, and may be able to win a number of small gold people. Below, the author will talk to you in detail about the historical background of this film and the story behind the scenes.
As a rare historical film in Hollywood in recent years, the story that took place in "The Last Duel" was also a full-fledged green melon in the European Middle Ages. In the film, Damon and his old friend Ben Affleck, in addition to playing roles in the film, also served as the screenwriter of the film together. The director of the film is known to everyone, he is Ridley Scott, the legendary director has many attractions, including "Alien", "Gladiator", "Blade Runner", "The Martian" and so on.
Although he is 84 years old, Scott has become more and more courageous in recent years. Not long after the overseas release of "The Last Duel", Scott announced that he would shoot "Gladiator 2" in 2022, which has been popular for a long time.
Hammer Brother Chris Hemsworth is rumored to be the new protagonist of the sequel. He recently said that he was not heartbroken by the box office failure of "The Last Duel", saying that it is now the 00 era and the audience's tastes have changed a lot, but it does not mean that you have to give up the history film.
The Last Duel is based on the novel of the same name, the only literary work in the world about this duel outside the literature.
It's just that the novel is quite unpopular, not only has it never been translated and published in China, and even few foreigners have read it, but the author Eric Jagger wrote it very seriously, and he not only tried his best to restore it in the book, the "judicial duel" that occurred in France in the 14th century, but also showed the customs and customs of France at that time from many different angles.
From the Anglo-French war, court struggles, cultural laws, to the clothing, food, shelter and transportation of the civilians at that time, they are all included, which can be called an encyclopedia of medieval France.
In the film The Last Duel, Damon plays the Norman knight Jean de Carrouge, who is defiled by his former best friend, Jacques Le Gris, a squire played by Adam Dreif, and becomes pregnant, which triggers a duel duel dueling because of his wife, Margaret, played by Judy Comer. Carouj first applied for a duel to their lord, Count Pierre Darren, played by Affleck.
Although he and Gris belonged to the same Count darren, the Earl of Darren obviously had a better relationship with Gris, so in the end the Count chose to favor Gris, not only did not agree to the duel, but also publicly stated that Margaret had slandered Gris. Carouge insisted on believing his wife and directly crossed the ranks to apply to the King of France for a duel.
The scandal was thus made public, and the duel was submitted to the French Ministry of Justice, which was finally decided by king Charles VI at the time.
According to the statutes of the time, the party that lost the duel was subject to hanging even if it did not die. Margaret, the victim, could choose to abandon the complaint before the king made a formal ruling. Because if Margaret's husband was killed during the duel, she would also be burned at the stake on the spot. Because winning or losing a duel represents God's will, Margaret constitutes the crime of slander, so she is also punished.
Margaret, like her husband, insisted on the street. So on the day of the duel, the king's nobles and many commoners came to see the liveliness. From the beginning, the duel was clearly in favor of the young and strong Gris.
But although Kaluzh, who is already old, has been injured because of years of fighting, he really seems to have the help of god, stumbling and becoming the ultimate victor. Eventually, Caruzh and Margaret kissed in cheers, and the body of the loser, Gris, was hanged and spurned by the crowd.
When director Scott filmed, he did not use the direct narrative method of the novel, but used it, similar to the bold layered narrative structure of the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa in "Rashomon" in 1950. This way, Chinese director Zhang Yimou also used it in 2002's "Hero". The entire film of "The Final Duel" is obviously divided into three chapters.
Each chapter is arranged separately, Caruzh, Margaret, and Gris, interpreting the whole story from their own perspectives, and leaving the audience with many, completely inconclusive clues for everyone to think about what the truth of this history is.
For example, in movies and books, there is one thing that is repeatedly mentioned, that is, before Margaret married Caruzh, why did Caruzh and Gris suddenly become intolerable enemies? One of the clues related to this incident is the sudden death of Carouge's ex-wife and children.
Prior to this, the two of them were very close, and Gris was the godfather of the child. So why does the death of a friend's wife and children affect their friendship?
The second clue is that the Lords of Carouge and Gris, Count Darren, are clearly more appreciated by Earl Darren, apparently because Gris is as affectionate as he is. But Gris was also serious at first, and he began to become promiscuous, also after the death of Caruzh's ex-wife and children.
So this makes the audience have to pay attention to another clue, that is, it is mentioned in the film that Caruzh and his ex-wife had children long after marriage, and Margaret and him married, and there was no movement for many years, but there was a time with Gris.
The director and the screenwriter did not intend to explain these questions at all, but instead raised a new question, that is, is there any feeling between Caruchy and Margaret? The film, like the novel, makes it clear that between Caruzh and Margaret, there was a political marriage.
But the difference is that the protagonists of the two works are different. The focus of the book is on Caruzh, showing his chivalry, how to take him out of adversity, and finally win Margaret's heart.
The film's focus is clearly on Margaret, showing her circumstances in that era. But the director and screenwriter are also clearly not on either side. It just clearly tells the audience two facts. First of all, When Caruzh married Margaret, she was over 50 years old and had financial problems. The second is that Margaret's mother's family was once very powerful, she was the only daughter in the family, and the dowry was naturally quite rich, but because her father had ignored the later king, it was urgent to find a son-in-law like Caruzh, who had always maintained a loyal reputation in the court.
Whether Caruzh and Margaret have true love or not, I am afraid that only they themselves know. It's like whether Gris has tarnished Margaret or not, only the two of them know. Looking back at the entire film, Gris repeatedly shouted wronged lines, and even before he was stabbed to death, he resolutely refused to admit that he had desecrated Margaret. Let the author also feel that he may really be wronged.
But Gris's words of warning Margaret after tarnishing her cannot be ignored. This again seems to mean that Gris is not the first time to threaten other people's wives. This again connects the audience to the death of Karoo's wife and children. So the key to judging the truth of this "judicial duel" incident seems to have returned to the issue of Caruzh's fertility.
Of course, there is no clear answer in the film, but the filmmakers explain their ideas through the mouth of judicial officials. The character says that Gris did not defile Margaret, but Margaret was having an affair with someone else, and after she became pregnant, she was afraid that her true lover would be exposed, so she pushed everything onto the mercurial Gris. So the truth of everything is that Margaret made an innings.
But as long as Margaret doesn't admit it, Gris can only participate in the duel. After the duel, the truth becomes irrelevant after Gris's death. For one will only remember that Kaluzh was a hero who defended the dignity of himself and his wife.
At the end of the film, it is mentioned that Caruchy died on the battlefield, Margaret inherited a large inheritance and enjoyed wealth, and she lived for more than 30 years and never remarried. In fact, the end of the book is even better, in addition to the above things, it is also mentioned that Caruchy and Margaret had three sons in succession after the duel. Originally, this story should have been the finishing touch to sublimate the true feelings of the hero and heroine, but it was also the last question of the director and screenwriters about this history, and it was finally directly crossed out.
Although it is only a trivial history, and there are too many unclear and unclear, I must also admit that when this story was filmed as a melon, it still tasted delicious even if the background was in the dark Middle Ages. "The Last Duel" has many details worth seeing, and it is definitely the biggest surprise at the end of 2021, don't miss it.