Be warned in advance that the 2026 monthly cinematographic column will have some serious hard hitters, all being in their respective anniversary. To start things off with a bang I decided on a story about knights and woes, a beautiful tale that has, in fact, just reached its 25th anniversary.
A Knight’s Tale is a 2001 movie starring Heath Ledger and Rufus Sewell. Also, you may note that most of the other actors are a testament to the talent of the movie; for instance you have Paul Bettany (in arguably one of his best secondary roles) or you may recognize Robert Baratheon. The title infers to a certain degree a rendition of Chaucer’s homonymous story; as a matter of fact, the writer is even portrayed, to a great comic effect, within the movie itself.
I do want to preface one thing in particular: this movie has one of the most misleading intros in the histories of movies. The beginning would induce the viewers to expect a light-hearted comedy, a mindless movie, a viewing experience dedicated to entertain with laughter. It does however a full 180 and subverts all expectations; this is not to say that the movie does not have some hilarious moments, mixed with a modern soundtrack (think rock and roll applied to medieval times). Nevertheless, in spite of the lighter tone of certain moments, the movie remains quite mature, following the adventures of a wannabe knight who rises from nothingness in a hierarchical and cast-base world where such things would otherwise be impossible. There is romance, there is adventure, there are tears and there are heart-worming moments.
Speaking of knights however, the movie follows the common theme of romanticizing an ancient honour-based world. To maintain this passage brief, I will just mention that the medieval jousts and honourable dimension differ from the historical basis of similar competitions; these were originally more war-games than actual sportsmanship events.
The moral of the movie is quite clear and simple: “thirteen silver pieces, three men can change their stars”. Changing one’s stars, even for a peasant who rises to the rank of knight, is a message of hope and of going against a preordained destiny. It is about the fight one has to take on in order to be who they want to be. It is a well written love story, with ups and downs and all the impossibilities that make a positive outcome hoped for and anticipated – all with just the right panache of some good classic rock music.
I would give this movie an 8 out of 10 “Geofrey Chaucer and the art of bullshiting”.
3 thoughts on “…and a Bard’s Song”