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| NAME OF THE ROSE (1986) | |
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Name
of the Rose is set in a Benedictine Abbey located in the Italian Alps in
the early 14th century, the Dark Ages. The Franciscan monk William
of Baskerville (Sean Connery) arrives together with his apprentice, Adso
von Melk (Christian Slater) as he was summoned by the Catholic Church to
help defend the Franciscan order's religious philosophy. The
Franciscan order believes that when Christ was born and lived he did not
live a life of wealth and thus the Catholic Church should show an example
by not living a life of wealth. The Catholic Church resists this
notion as they insist that the Catholic Church does not have to be poor
and it can be seen in the status among the monks and other Catholic
leaders as they wear fancy clothing, eat well, and have gold in an
abundance. The different Catholic leaders gathered gold through
praying for farmers crops, collecting taxes, and much more while the
people are living in fear of going to hell.
Baskerville arrives a couple of days early to study some of the well-known literary treasures that are hidden within the walls of the Abbey. Shortly after Baskerville and his apprentice have arrived rumors spread as Baskerville's presence is well-known since he is a man of wisdom who has also read the forbidden books. To Baskerville's dismay he finds out that a few selected people are only allowed into the library, which seems highly peculiar to the well-read Franciscan monk. In addition, it also appears as if the forces of evil are in the works within the Abbey as a man seems to have died from an unexplainable fall, which is followed by another mysterious death. Name of the Rose is a powerful film with strong political themes of how to get the commoners to pay for their faith or to stay with the faith in god as their savior. Annaud does a brilliant job of piecing the story together as there is a multitude of strong messages that he conveys in a straight forward manner, yet he offers more for those who want more underneath the surface through cerebral participation. An interesting notion is the muffled participation of the female characters, which brings about a strong patriarchal environment where wrong said words could mean certain death. When the end credits have rolled through, the audience has experienced a suspenseful drama of high caliber that will offer much thought for those who seek further enlightenment in subsequent discussions. |
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France / Italy / Germany |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 7/8/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
