Barbarossa (2009) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

Italy 2009
Director: Renzo Martinelli
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Raz Degan, F. Murray Abraham, Kasia Smutniak, Cécile Cassel, Federica Martinelli
Rating: R
Language: English
Release Date: 2 Oct 2009 (Italy); 22 Feb 2011 (DVD)
Running Time: 2 hours 9 minutes

The Movie Review

Barbarossa film still 1


BARBAROSSA
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

Epic, War or Historical movies are kinda different when it comes to viewing experience, this type of film is much more impressive when you see them in Cinemas with all the big screen, awesome sounds and everything movie-theater-material. But it's getting hard to find epic movies these days, let alone a good one. This month, everyone in Indonesia is highly enthusiastic for Harry Potter, Transformers, Fast Five or Kung fu Panda 2. The last epic film in Cinemas was Ironclad (2011). Sword of War is one of my options to satiate this yearnings for good epic, let's find out if it can be your pick too.

Set in the 12th Century Italy, the great German Emperor, Barbarossa (Rutger Hauer), invades Italy and treats the locals as some kind of disposable-capital to broaden his empire. On his personal ambition to be the next Charlemagne and conquering Milan, his acts have made Italians feel marginalized in every sector. The small states in Italy which vows loyalty to Barbarossa are often used just as martyr in wars. Until the son of Blacksmith named Alberto da Giussano (Raz Degan) starts to form a new group of resistance known as The Lombard League, but Alberto and his trusted men prefer to name themselves as Company of Death.

The fate of Barbarossa AKA Frederick I Barbarossa and Alberto da Giussano are already intertwined since the early teen age of Alberto when he unexpectedly saves the King from an untimely death of being charged by a wild boar. Barbarosaa (which means Red Beard) then gives the young Alberto his own dagger as a token of gratitude. Little does the king realize, Alberto is the one who's going to be the strongest one who fights against him and the hero among the Italians. What will happen next between Barbarossa and his army with Alberto Da Giussano and his Company of Death?

I actually try to refrain myself from giving harsh criticism on epic movies as it's likely harder to produce than action or comedy and usually involves more expensive spending, but Barbarossa is just curiosity-inducing when one is willing to think how could they screw this up at some of the most important aspects in a motion picture... Storyline, Dialogue and Acting. Running for more than 2 hours, Barbarossa gives a mixed bag quality in every terms. Every aspect! I mean, as I sit through this epic historical film based on true story, I'm constantly swayed between this feeling of disappointment and excitement! When it comes to drama and dialogue-fencing, the actors and actresses could be really wooden or over-the-top with weird gusto! And it's hard for anyone above 12 y.o. to be fully enthusiastic about the storyline. Two actors who stand out for being naturally good are undoubtedly Rutger Hauer and F. Murray Abraham (as Siniscalco Barozzi).

Interestingly, when it comes to real fencing --although only in one battle-siege scene--, Barbarossa becomes exciting and even emotional (at least compared to the drama). Barbarossa AKA Sword of War is actually a welcomed addition in the realm of Epic or War genre, it delivers something new and informative about Barbarossa and Lombard League and the ensuing battles between them. Before this, I personally only knew him through a PC Game titled Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The flaws which directly caused by the acting department could actually be overlooked by casual moviegoers or those who just want to veg out. Because once you can overlook it, you'll see some serious filmmaking (although not a memorable one), great costumes of the Middle Ages era, properties, battles and everything medieval-material. Barbarossa even includes subplot pertaining devastating Bubonic Plague that swept across Europe and killed millions and millions of people. Unfortunately, we won't even grow to care about the characters in Barbarossa...