Medieval: The History is Weak, But the Violence is Fast and Fierce

By Thom Ernst

Rating: B

War historians—and undoubtedly most of the Czech Republic—will know the name Jan Žižka. 

Others will need to do some research.

So, here is what I found: Žižka is a 15th-century military icon with an impressive record as an undefeated warrior. His career-defining battles were during the Hussite Wars (1419 – 1434), when he rose against a corrupt and ineffective monarchy, despite believing that God appoints whoever sits on the throne and therefore is to be obeyed. 

Ben Foster is 15th Century Czech military icon Jan Žižka in Petr Járl’s Medieval

But that's not quite the story director Petr Jákl is interested in telling in his latest film, Medieval. 

Medieval is about a young Jan Žižka (Ben Foster) before the Hussite Wars, making the film a kind of Žižka origin story. 

The complexity of Žižka's life before the Hussite Wars—though no doubt historically accurate—can be challenging to navigate. The story involves an appointed Pope, an unpopular King, a plotting half-brother, and a kidnapped Lady who is the fiancé of the film's principal villain, Rosenberg (Til Schweiger). 

Confusion mounts as one mud-drenched Anglo-Saxon starts to look like another. Not until a young boy is mercilessly left to a brutal and public death can we pinpoint who, precisely, the villains are in this story. Until then, everyone appears to be up to no good. 

But Jákl doesn't sit and wait for us to catch up. Instead, he continues to forge ahead, pushing the story into scenes both stunning and brutal. Mostly brutal. 

Medieval  is the most expensive film to come out of the Czech Republic. An estimated report prices the movie at 500,000,000 CZK or a budget of $23 million US. As it has been said, the money is up on the screen. But the film gets a limited release and risks being buried beneath the coverage of TIFF, one of the largest of international film festivals. 

As a title, Medieval seems too generic for a film so specifically focused on one man. But it is perhaps the film's best chance of finding an audience, as I doubt The Story of Jan Žižka would cut it. 

Foster gives his Jan Žižka the suitable appeal of an action hero; a man driven by the inconsistencies between honour and obligation. He can brood through moments of moral dilemma, and yet be almost clumsily lucky in battle. As Žižka, Foster pushes aside the mythology of his character to allow Lady Catherine (Sophie Lowe) to reveal herself as a formidable force. 

Some of the film's action and staged heroics seem more for audience consumption then historical accuracy.  I'm okay with that. 

Medieval works as a trumped-up history lesson embedded with a love story between Žižka and Lady Catherine. Perfunctory research into Jan Žižka provides no evidence that the commander and Lady ever shared a romance. True or not, their romance serves as a way of conveying a more progressive ideology and a gentler warrior. 

Plus, it provides room in the film for greater action sequences with higher stakes. Jákl claims that Žižka's story is as authentic as possible, but acknowledges that facts are not as crucial as creating "an overall impression."  

To that point, I congratulate, Járl. I agree 100% that biographical films suffer from adhering to a grocery list of facts when an overall impression is often more effective. Occasionally, the impression Medieval leaves far overwhelms the facts. But historians, if so inclined, are free to point out inaccuracies. 

The violence in Medieval is fast, frequent and fierce and could possibly be the film's biggest draw. History might be the film's initial hook, but it's the movie's grisly depictions of military violence that the film will likely be remembered. 

Medieval is directed by Petr Jákl and stars Ben Foster, Sophie Lowe, Til Schweiger, and Michael Caine. Medieval opens in select theatres Friday, September