A Lenda do Cavaleiro Verde

The Green Knight came highly recommended. I went in wanting to love it, but left disappointed. The cinematography and visual execution in the film are outstanding (with the exception of the weakly CGI'd fox). The movie drops the viewer into a fully realized medieval fantasy, complete with talking creatures, witchcraft, a ghost, and even a traveling crew of giants in a segment that made little sense. It's fortunate that the scenes are so dazzling, because you'll be staring at them a while. The movie trudges along for over two hours.

For plot, the Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's unaccomplished nephew who appears to spend much of his time drinking or fraternizing with a prostitute he fancies but is unwilling to progress the relationship any further beyond transactional. On Christmas, at the King's feast, the eponymous Green Knight appears, a creature with a human shape but made of trees and plants. He proposes a game: anyone who strikes him will receive his powerful ax, but in one year, that individual must go to the Green Knight's home, an earthen chapel, and receive the same strike in return. Gawain beheads the Green Knight, achieving instant fame throughout the kingdom. As the following year slips away, Gawain then faces his obligations and sets off on the journey to meet the Green Knight.

It's a film that asks Big Questions, about the meaning of being human and facing one's death, about honor, duty, and chivalry, and even about love. After raising these issues early on, once Gawain begins his travels, the film then instead forefronts the slog of the journey. Maybe the unpleasantness of duty is part of the point, but it's not enjoyable viewing either. Several of the stops along the way seem nothing more than pretty, pretentious asides - dreamlike aspects of the film's world that they just couldn't cut during editing - rather than necessary portions of plot. The movie was stuffed with these aspects and overlong as a result, resulting in a viewing experience that felt tedious by the time the credits rolled.

I thought the story was slow and confusing. I didn't understand what happened in the film at all.

I could see how this movie could put some to sleep or how other people could say it's not faithful to its source material, but this is genuinely one of the most intriguing movies I have ever seen, and if you have enjoyed the past styles of a24 you will definitely enjoy this movie, as it has its high moments. Most of the negativity I see stems from people going into this movie expecting an epic tale of Game of Thrones proportions. This is not the case, and anyone who knows a24 should really have known better. This movie is enjoyable and a sight to see, so giving it your time could change your perspective.

I don't know what kind of drugs David Lowery took but it seems like that stuff was doing its job. The Green Knight is well filmed, I'll give them that, but the story itself is slow, making no sense for the majority of the time. It's just a weird movie, and normally that doesn't mean it's bad but in this case it was. The acting wasn't bad either so it wasn't their fault this whole movie was a mess. Apart of the good cinematography and the decent acting it's just not good. I wouldn't waste your time with this one if I were you.

Told in the spirit of watching paint dry, waiting for water to boil, or watching golf...this an insanely boring telling of what should have been a great story.