Braveheart is an American movie made in 1995 and it is directed and produced by Mel Gibson.

It is a longfilm and it’s around three hours long. I would describe the genre as a historical drama, romance, adventure and war. The main question in the movie is fighting for freedom and independence but there are also other questions such as revenge and betrayal. The movie is called Braveheart, the reason for this being that the main character William Wallace had a brave heart, hence the title.

Environment

The movie takes place in late 1300 century and early 1400 century Scotland were medieval England is ruling. We see beautiful Scottish green natures scenes but also brutal battles and medieval castles. Because it takes place in Scotland there is a lot of rain and mud. Most of the Scots are simple farmers and England has banned them from training with weapons so they spend a lot of time farming and sometimes partying. In England however the king lives in a huge castle and he has a large trained army. The English also view the Scots as dirty filthy animals. Because the movie is set in the medieval ages, big towns such as Edinburg, London and York are much smaller.

Summary

In the beginning of the film we see a young William Wallace, who is played by Mel Gibson, in Scotland entering a shed. He is only a little boy when he witnesses tens of Scots hanging from a noose. We already witness the gruesomeness of medieval England and that they are ruling Scotland with an iron fist. Williams father decide to go to war with England to revenge the dead Scots but fails and returns home dead. Here we see how powerful England was at that time. Williams only relative now is his uncle who takes him on long pilgrimage journeys. Years later he is a well educated adult and returns to his home village where England is still ruling. He finds the love of his life Murron and decides that he only wants to live a normal life. England is not pleased however because of other rebelling Scots so they make new rules that an English nobleman can bed a newlywed Scot on her wedding night. To avoid this Murron and William decides to marry in secret. One day English soldiers try to rape Murron and they kill her with William managing to escape. This is the turning point of the movie and makes William furious so he decides to reunite the Scots and rebel against England.

Characters

William Wallace is the main character of the film and he is both loving and caring. He truly loves his wife Murron and his country Scotland. He is a man of honor. Even when he faces death he chooses not to beg for mercy and spits out the poison he is given the night before.

Robert the Bruce is a young man who also loves his country immensely. He believes in freedom and independence but he is mislead and manipulated by his father to betray William Wallace because his father believes it is an unwinnable war. He feels deep regret for his actions and kills his own father.

Recommendation

The movie has beautiful scenery and is very easy to follow. It’s very well made and very educational. I would recommend this movie to young adults and above. Even though the movie is easy to follow it is also very brutal and bloody which is not the best for a younger child. The movie is also three hours long and younger kids usually have a very short attention span. This movie fits for all genders and preferences since it contains both romance and secret love but also war and epic battles. You don’t have to be a historic fnatic to enjoy this movie. The movie really challenged my expectations. It’s exciting and very unpredictable. I would really recommend this movie.