A KNIGHT IN THE HOLY LAND. A WOMAN IN THE FROZEN NORTH. A WAR THAT KEPT THEM APART.
After a scandal in 1170s Sweden involving two young lovers, Arn (Joakim Nätterqvist) and Cecilia (Sofia Helin), he becomes a knight templar in the Middle East and she’s hidden away in a convent. One of the most expensive Scandinavian films ever made is a moderately handsome and engaging history lesson. However, we’re never really drawn into the high-powered family conflicts in Sweden at the time, or the battle between Christianity and Islam during the Crusades. Nätterqvist and Helin’s romance doesn’t quite light up the screen.
2007-Sweden-Norway-Denmark-Germany-Finland-Britain. 138 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Peter Flinth. Novels: Jan Guillou (“The Road to Jerusalem”, “The Knight Templar”). Song: “Snö” (Laleh). Cast: Joakim Nätterqvist (Arn Magnusson), Sofia Helin (Cecilia Algotsdotter), Michael Nyqvist (Magnus Folkesson), Stellan Skarsgård, Gustaf Skarsgård, Fanny Risberg… Bibi Andersson, Simon Callow, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent Perez, Lina Englund, Sven-Bertil Taube, Julia Dufvenius, Tomas Bolme.
Trivia: Original title: Arn – tempelriddaren. Followed by Arn: The Kingdom at Road’s End (2008).
