``The Green Knight'' The adventures of a fetus wrapped in amber

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2022.11.30Daiji Miyashiro

decline and fall of the kingdom

"Eye lights were very important. Any time the Green Knight or Saint Winifred entered the frame, I had my eye lights on. Whenever there was a little bit of magic in the world, I wanted their eyes to sparkle with that magic." (Director of Photography: Andrew Dros Palermo)*

Not only the Green The Green Knight's beheading scene at the beginning, but also the shot of the severed head falling to the floor is shocking. The sound of the head hitting the floor with a thud is even more terrifying because of its weight. And this sound of the head falling is nothing but Gawain's inner fear. The Green Knight, who is the "author" of Gawain's story, doesn't actually appear very often. Nevertheless, the Green Knight always dominates Gawain's fear with his overwhelming charisma, like Colonel Kurtz played by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now (1979).

Alicia Vikander plays two roles, a prostitute named Ethel and a noblewoman, two women of contrasting social classes. They briefly live together in the castle of their master (Joel Edgerton). When Gawain is unable to resist his own base desires, the noblewoman tells him, "You are no knight." To Gawain, the noblewoman who resembles Ethel is a temptress and a test.

Before leaving for the Green Chapel, Gawain receives a green sash from his mother. It is a green sash that is enchanted to protect him from harm as long as he wears it. This green sash, which looks like an intestine, seems to be an umbilical cord that connects him not only to his mother Morgan, but to all the women in the story. Gawain grows up with the umbilical cord still connected. The adventures of the fetus wrapped in amber. Outside of Gawain's journey, there is a network of women that he will never know. The violent scene in which Gawain's men throw money at Ethel, the mother of the newborn baby, belittles this network. How important is it to be great? It reminds me of Ethel's line. "Fools perish."

The story of the kingdom's decline with the death of King Arthur continues like a silent film picture scroll. Looking back, when Ethel splashes water on Gawain in the opening scene, it was probably to send a heartfelt Arrival to "wake up." Gawain needs to wake up, cut off his umbilical cord himself, and look at the history that has been neglected behind the legend. The courage to step down from the legend. Overcoming that fear will become the legend of the next generation. The women's words "be brave" are a harsh and poignant Arrival directed towards a new future.

* Film Maker Magazine [ "The Horse is Constantly Looking at the Technocrane": DP Andrew Droz Palermo on The Green Knight ]

Text: Daiji Miyashiro (maplecat-eve)

Movie criticism. Contributed reviews to ``Leos Carax: Movie Wanderer'', Eureka's ``Wes Anderson Special'', Real Sound, Soen, otocoto, Toshio Matsumoto Special Pamphlet, etc.

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"The Green Knight"

Opens Friday, November 25th at TOHO Cinemas Chanter and other theaters nationwide!

Distribution: Transformers

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