As seen on the Horror Channel last night Black Death (2010) is a blunt, gritty film set in 14th century Europe revolving around, as the title suggests the "Black Death" more commonly recognized as the Bubonic Plague. We have a group of Christian warriors with mandate by Church leadership to find and capture a rumoured necromancer, whom they believe to be one of the evils causing the plague killing innumerable people around them, and the troubles that group of men face.
The movie deals with several other issues, however, as sort of sub-plots: predominantly there is a major theme dealing with criticism of the Church, attacking the ideals of some who would act merely on belief, without any real proof. Contrarily, a theme coincides, also arguing for faith. Character development is mainly portrayed through the moral progression of various lead actors in the film, particularly in regards to trials of guilt, killing vs murder, belief in the nature of God and the power of evil.
While I know little of the history of this time, the environment, accurate or not, was at the least very consistent. The violence was as much as I'd hoped for, and no more… no excessive gore, most of the really violent stuff happens off-screen. The language is decent, and the sexual content is very minimal, nothing you wouldn't come across walking down the street.
I loved this movie, and I might even watch it again, someday. I think that the movie really did accomplish what it set out to do: provide an insightful (although perhaps largely fictional) look into the social climate surrounding the Black Death, and causing the audience to consider some moral questions in the process, while maintaining a consistent atmosphere of mystery and suspense from beginning to end.
Sean Bean fails the reach the end of the film.
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