How The Green Knight's Ending Makes it a Masterpiece | Film Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 6 янв 2025
- The Green Knight is one of the greatest films of the past decade. In this video, I discuss the story's main themes and how they unfold in a stunning ending that is rivaled by few in the contemporary cinema.
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I love this movie and I'm glad to see it talked about more
This movie has always hit me hard because in many ways I am like Gawain. This was a very beautiful analysis.
Great analysis. However, I think the green sash represents more than "a comforting object limiting your potential".
The Green Knight has an ambiguous ending with the Knight saying: "Now, off with your head."
In the source material, Gawain is spared. The act of removing the sash having proved his virtue, he is free to return home and rule justly.
In the film, we don’t know that this happens. It is clearly an intentional choice. We are meant to imagine both possibilities: the Green Knight spares him, the Green Knight kills him.
But actually, the film tells us, the Green Knight kills him no matter what. It’s only a matter of time. The Lady’s monologue about the colour green sets this up. Green is the colour of nature repossessing the fruits of humanity’s labour when, inevitably, the force of human life is spent. Gawain may die today, maybe tomorrow, but eventually the Green Knight will take his due.
The green sash is a symbol of denial. It is green, the colour of nature. By owning it and controlling an object that represents nature we flatter ourselves that we own and control nature itself. This self-deception comes at a terrible cost, represented by the vision of Gawain’s future.
But recognition of the lie of the sash, and the impossibility of a final victory over nature, does not necessarily bring salvation. We will die and go into the ground. All our legacies, no matter how great, will eventually face the same fate. In the meantime, the best lesson we can take is to respect the Green Knight’s power and live with grateful recognition of the gift of our time in the sun.
I have a suspicion that the Green Knight as recorded in Arthurian legend is not the original version of the story. In that story, there is a way out of the Green Knight’s supremacy, which is to prove oneself honourable in the eyes of God. That is Gawain’s victory which the Green Knight happily cooperates in. But it seems plausible to me that this happy ending was a later addition, and that the earlier tale ended more darkly-perhaps with Gawain sacrificing himself to protect the people from nature’s curse. I wonder if the director’s ambiguous telling was intended to evoke a pre-Christian pedigree for the tale.
I doubt there's an earlier version for the author to have copied. 14th century is pretty early considering ol' Geoffrey and his rather inventive history book introducing "King Arthur: was in the 12th century. I think it's relatively well known the invention of any of those tales relied a lot on rewriting folklore of the time. Gawain was snatched from Welsh lore probably and Arthur may have been Briton lore, but every single plot point used in the English poem came from regional folktales that tended to overlap over all the different regions and religions (some of which had already been appropriated into the lore of Catholicism).....with the Knight's beheading game being originally attributed to the Irish (can't remember why though and the only other example I remember ever seeing was from Celt myth so *shrug*). I think the real challenge is always to actually show up, something I remember the poem being pretty opaque about, and I always thought Gawain was a coward for bringing his Girdle of Guilt or whatever it was called and wearing it forever supposedly 'out of shame' was such a major cop out too, so I very much loved seeing a version where he takes it off instead. I don't think there's any versions that ends with an actual beheading as it's always a theme in honor/courage stories, but I'd love to be proven wrong by someone who didn't get their info from a rather obsessed high school teacher who may very well have been making up or misunderstanding a lot of it. There's other Arthurian Tales that even use or re-use that same plot point though and the same basic ending just w/o the 3some part and the gifting of undergarments I personally like to attribute to the monk writing it all down "for the archives"
In the movie the lady of the castle admits to making improvements into the books she copies. I think that's the writer/director voicing his thoughts on the matter. Whether he believes the story to have been changed or whether he thinks he himself is making needed improvements to it.
I'm ready now. Now I'm ready.
The film (as I interpret it) was an attempt to deconstruct a primal and elemental story that was nearly flawless.
Whether that attempt works for you or not is up to the viewer.
In the theatre when she said "you are no knight" I thought she said "you're a nut knight" since it happened right after he came.
I think it's absolutely fantastic, it's a beautiful art piece with a unique take on a hero's journey, a boy becoming a man. The feeling of anxiety throughout the entire movie, facing death in multiple ways, the battle within, fear, turmoil, temptation, and overcoming all these things unbecoming of a knight, and realizing it's time to let go and grow, become something new and honorable, become a knight, become a man.
It is a philosophical movie. It doesn't offer much entertainment and hence isn't for most people. Doesn't make it a bad movie.
The movie asks you to lean in a little to listen. Excellent interpretive film. It does have a flaw though. They assumed that you, the audience already knows the lore of king Arthur and knighthood and how there are these 7 or so virtues of knighthood. We see that on his journey, Gawain fails each one. My main gripe. This movie had stunning cinematics and the tale is timely. Had fun piecing things together along the way.
You have earned my Sub. Your Apocalypto analysis was the catalyst. This video sealed the deal. I love hearing other people's insights about film and/or books. Even if they differ from mine, there are always nuggets of truth that I tend to pick up and learn.
By the way, This film has a lot of similarities to The Last Temptation Of Christ, at least from my limited understanding based on this video.
I think it's funny how people call it trash or bad but can't say why. What about it was trash besides simply repeating yourselves.
Some movies aren’t very good and don’t need defending
The lead character was trash, an ignoble knight. The story was meandering trash that held together by a thread. The ending was trash that deliberately insults the intelligence of the moviegoer by chewing up a classic of medieval literature and spitting it back in your face. Moral of the story, stay at home and watch old movies that you corsair off the web, as post-modern cinematography all too often robs you of 15$ without giving you your money's worth.
This was a thinking film that was story and character driven. Not action driven. They are butt hurt they couldn't turn off their brains. ;-)
@@Assisi4 you had to turn off yours to enjoy such filth. The characters were a disgrace.
I love movies like this .. Great film
💯💯💯
Wow so many haters in the comments, it’s okay if art wasn’t for you, no need to trash it
when someone calls a dumpster fire a "masterpiece," this is bound to happen.
Their opinion. Totally fine.
@@tisdue then prove it's a dumpster. calling water wine doesn't make it wine or wise versa. and every opinion is subjective. as well as yours
But it was a dumpster fire tho@@aaaaaa-ql1vj
and who hurt you? gonna cry because someone doesnt like this film? let people trash the film.
the film was a snooze fest anyways. if there was more actual substance during the middle section of the film instead of studio A24 jerking off to metaphors and existentialism like they always do in their other projects, audiences would have liked it better.
Conan the Barbarian was a much better coming of age journey about a character becoming a worthy king.
he loses his mother and father during an invasion, gets sold into slavery, works his way through life as a slave becoming death itself, is set free to embark on life's quest, avenges his parents, then settles down as king and comtemplates his next move. the answer to the riddle of steel is the bond you create between yourself and the people around you.
I saw it not quite knowing the Arthurian Lore...And kinda enjoyed it.
The people who dislike this film need to watch it again. I absolutely hated it the first time I saw it, but still enjoyed the visuals. When I gave it a second go, I loved it.
The visuals are literally the one thing it has going for it. They can't save a garbage story.
Great video mate
Brilliant.
💯 Definitely
Great analysis of a really good looking movie. I didn’t care for it when I watched it but maybe I should give it another chance
I enjoyed your analysis much more than the movie.
Damn sad to see how many people in the comments are so self centered to realize other people exist with different tastes and opinions, and they just comment without care nor respect for others or themselves showing their lack of virtues, that you didn't liked it doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't like it either, definitely not the greatest but also not the worst film ever, to me good cinematography and good enough to pass that time and don't see me watching it again in the near future, thats it, no need for calling it the crappiest ever or whatever if he likes it good for him and i like hearing what he has to say maybe he changes my or someone elses view, if you don't like hearing that then don't waste your time on useless comments or watching a video you hate
@@JCarrera_ll You're projecting. We're allowed to say we didn't like a movie without you taking it personally. Let people critique things - positively or negatively. There are reasons to both like or dislike the film. I welcome both perspectives. You clearly don't.
@@greygorygaming thanks for NOT reading my comment ;)
@@JCarrera_ll You're so self-centered that you couldn't possibly imagine yourself being the person who is doing the things you accuse others of being. And learn about proper punctuation and grammar before you start writing. It's clearly getting in the way of your reading comprehension.
I read the original medieval story translated by Tolkien and was able to appreciate the movie much more after that. I do wish it was a bit more true to the story and Gawain in the story is an honorable knight and his speech and actions are so lovely. But I know this is a modern adaptation for modern audiences.
Your last sentence sums up perfectly why the movie crashed and burned.
Bro, your analysis and writing is truely world-class. Would love an analysis of A Ghost Story (by The Green Knight guy) and Excaliber.
(and not to corrupt your analysis but I lose it at the final scene as a yearning for a savior better than King David, after whom the Authorian legend is patterned. Would love your take on all that.)
Are we ever going to get that video on "Hamburger Hill"? Were you at least able to figure out whether it wasn't as good or treated unfairly?
Very Caspar David Friedrich avatar.
It has an amazing aesthetic and what I think mythical, medieval movies should look like but…I found myself bored beyond belief. I got the general theme and what they were going for but felt like it’s just not a very strong story for a movie
The movie had nice cinematography but it's frustrating when these art films expect you to just accept what they're doing as deep and don't bother with the basics of storytelling.
For the entire movie I was just irritated cause the film never bothered to explain how getting his head cut off by some random magical entity would somehow make him a better person.
In real life people only pursue something if they understand the end goals clearly.
I think It's about inner character vs personal ambitions. Gawain never really has an understanding of his true nature (and where it leads) until he's about to lose his head. He impulsively sets off on a quest because he's thinking about ways to dodge the challenge whilst retaining the glory, and this attitude leads to failure at every step. Competency, commitment, morality; you name it, he lacks it. The journey confronts him with his character, which is why we get that extended fake flashback - he realises he'd make a lousy king, and he'd get his head lopped off anyway - whilst bringing pain to a whole lot more people. So he makes the better choice, which is one of self-sacrifice. I think the film is also suggesting this is an avoidable tragedy; if Gawain understood his character, then maybe he'd work at changing it instead of seeking shortcuts to power. TLDR: Don't go on a quest for the sake of going on one. Do it because it's the right thing to do.
@@Retrostar619 But from his perspective the quest ends with him dying so I still don't understand why he would go on the quest in the first place. Unless dying by the Green Knight is part of the journey to becoming King but then it's not really a sacrifice since he would know the Green Knight will let him live, again the movie didn't do a good job at explaining this.
The point of the quest is intentionally stupid and unexplained - it’s a critique of people blindly subscribing to traditional ideas of masculinity
@@robrick9361 You can infer from his devil-may-care attitude to life prior to accepting the quest that he hasn't fully thought through what it involves, and is probably going to try and bs his way through it. The film is, in part, a warning against jumping into trials solely to prove your worth.
@@robrick9361 Maybe a story like this one isn't meant to just tell you what happens to an imaginary man in an imaginary world. The nonsensical nature of the story lets you depart from the literal and ask what else is going on here. How does this man's motivations and repulsions run parallel to my own inner machinations. When is my own character tested and challenged and revealed in my own life. How do I learn and change course. How do I stop running and face myself. How do my choices affect others. (Who or what is the Green Knight in our lives?)
Maybe the story is left open and ambiguous because our own stories and futures are yet unwritten, and new choices are always appearing. It's not a one and done.
Or maybe it's to get you to ask, what would you do. What will you do.
So good, so good.
I'm glad others agree, this movie just failed on every mark. It had some great editing and that's all I could say. Thematically, it's a disservice to the original story.
This movie is a masterpiece.
@@Ivan-qi2duof 💩.
Maybe stick to the Marvel cinematic dumbiverse
I really liked the movie even though I couldn't keep my eyes open during the first hour
Sounds pretty relaxing 😌
It was one of the most boring films I have ever scene. And I love Bela Tar movies
I'm sad for you :(
I zoned out in the movie theater
Maybe stick to the Marvel cinematic dumbiverse
Horrible movie
FIRST VIEWER lets fucking gooooooooooo
This movie is garbage of the highest order, maybe the worst movie Ive ever seen at the theater. Very embarrassing.
Maybe stick to the Marvel cinematic dumbiverse
@Gjudxdkjyzddhjnr7091 this is a stupid movie for dumb snobs
I thought it was a Bollywood movie
seriously?
Insanely stupid comment
Because it wasnt shit like western movies
"The Green Knight is one of the greatest films of the past decade"
Speaks volumes about the sorry state of the movie industry in the past decade.
Not a masterpiece. lol. It was clunky, dumb, and pointless. Just because you understood the ending means nothing.
I agree. Understanding a movie’s intention means nothing. I think I understand a lot of movies I dislike. Disagreeing on the films quality is all good 👍
@@LifeIsAStoryyou are a kind man. I would think you understand children well. Your perspective comes from a life well lived despite the pain endured. I will pray for you.... good sir knight. 🫡🙂↕️
Maybe stick to the Marvel cinematic dumbiverse
This was an awful film. A cynical postmodern perversion of a classic tale. Watching it you can see the director's glee in pissing on the sacred.
I haven't even seen the movie. From what I've seen of the reviews, I'm not sure I want to. I like the original so much, and this does not sound like it. Gawaine had, in the past, negligently allowed a lady to be murdered. Arthur then ordered him never to refuse a request from a lady. This lead to Gawaine's verbal sparing with the seductive hostess, as he could neither yield to her evil designs, nor refuse her outright. "I know you are so devoted to Christ and the Virgin, you would never do such a thing, and you are only joking." Or something like that.
@@TheFirstManticoreI watched the movie a few days ago and it made me angry. I hate it! I love the poem.
Not enough cracker or something??
Why are you talkintg about it like its some kind of sacred canon. It's an interpretation on the tale, not the definitive one. I think it captures it perfectly and I love the movie
@hessflix that's because you are uneducated.
This movie is trash.
Couldn't disagree more mate!