Review of The Green Knight (2021) by Vohnkar — 04 Aug 2021

This is art house at its finest. A movie for film buffs and critics, admittedly not so much for general audiences. The script isn't "a mess" or "incoherent" as some have noted. It's abstract, open ended, laden with foreshadowing, cryptic iconography and symbolism, but I can assure you that it was constructed with some serious intention.

"How does a movie like this get made?" whimpers one reviewer. And I agree, but for different reasons entirely: HOW does a fantastic piece of art like this even get made in a multiverse of generic filmgoers endlessly pushing future bargain bin superhero flicks in order to sustain - perhaps subconsciously - our current collective state of arrested development in an era of never-ending crises? Is it because we feel so impotent in the face of it all? Because we need to believe in heroes THAT badly? Is there no room for art/media that leans into our fears, that confronts our weaknesses and shortcomings in an honest but noble way? We could analyze this for days, but the answer is easy: I do not know.

I also do not know how to critique this film without critiquing audiences. But that's the real fun in movies like these, isn't it ;) Alas, I don't care if loving this film for the above-noted reasons makes me and others like me pretentious.

I'm glad it got made and I'm glad it pissed some people off.