Nostradamus

This movie is okay. The actors all do a fine job and the plot is well made. One of the bad things with this movie is that one only gets to see the foretelling Nostradamus made about the 20th century, and almost nothing else. I think the best part is when they have mixed the foretellings with his present doings. It is sad to see that this movie has been rated so low by the imdb-users.

I must say I enjoyed this film, but I agree with the other comments that it was horribly disjointed. It was absolutely gorgeous to look at (I would rate it up there with Elizabeth or Rozencranz & Guildenstern are Dead in that respect), but it is pretty hard to follow. Having read a short bio on Nostradamus recently, it seems that they got their facts right (there was some speculation, but isn't there always in such films?), but it seems rushed, like the director is trying to fit too much into the time alloted. Overall an enjoyable picture.

This is a real great movie about the Life of Nostradamus,if true or not, well that`s another question,but here you have some real great actors in very good roles first of all T.Karyo as Nosdradamus,he played the way as somebody who`ve lived all those things.In another role you have Rutger Hauer one of the best and underestimated actors in the Whole world in my opinion(have a look at Hitcher,Blade Runner,Soldier of Orange),he stars as the mystik monk only appears a few minutes but impresses a lot more.The Cast was filled up with F. Murray Abraham,A. Plummer and a lot more ofgreat actors,this all was mixed with some very good special effects(Nostradamus Visions)and good screenplay,wonderfull combine to an excellent picture by R.Christian(who also worked on Star Wars).A clear 10 out of 10 for me.

I only saw this film a few days ago and was struck by the beauty of the film as a whole. I found it neither boring, nor disjointed. Instead I was amazed at the man's life, the portrayal of the religious fear and bigotry of the time, and the terror of the plague. While I assume much of it can be put down to artistic licence, I come away from the film understanding more about the man, especially the fact that he wasn't some grizzled old madman.

I loved it, only finding Rutger Hauer's section somewhat unnecessary and peripheral, and his vision of the distant future too stylised. I would like to have known more about the rest of his life after the death of the King though...

Tcheky Karyo, most familiar to American audiences as Bob, the enigmatic secret agent by way of Pygmalion in Luc Besson's NIKITA, has his first English-language lead role as the 16th-century physician and prophet Michel de Nostradame, who predicted various events occurring hundreds of years into the future.

Filmed in Romania, the film is a grim, grubby depiction of the renaissance era, but seldom reaches any moments of true insight into Nostradamus' life. Instead of taking a scholarly approach required of the subject, and concentrating on the man's vision, director Roger Christian (whose claim to fame is being the art director on Ridley ScottÕs ALIEN and directing the pretty much forgetable horror flick THE SENDER) panders to the lowest common denominator by focusing on his love life, and his run-ins with pugnacious Inquisitors.

When he is shown having his prophetic visions, most of the sequences are stilted and hokey. Only one prediction sequence has any power, the vision of the Black Rain, filmed in Copsa Mica, which the National Geographic Society once branded as the most polluted city in Europe.

Academy Award Winner F. Murray Abraham (AMADEUS), called in to save the acting day, does serviceable work as Scalinger, Nostradamus' sometime mentor, and Rutger Hauer is weird and funny as the Mystic Monk. Do I hear laughs? His turn is actually quite enjoyable, with his candle-lit hat and his demolition of the loathsome flagellates.

Karyo consorts with a bevy of bold European actresses, including Julia Ormond, Maia Morgenstern (THE OAK), and Assumpta Serna (MATADOR, THE FENCING MASTER.) He makes a noble effort with his calm, cultivated, at times endearing performance but he can't carry the whole film.

The movie eventually dissipates in the scarcity of its low budget, borrowing footage (ironically enough) from ALIENS for its final sequence which depicts space travel.