Captain Alatriste - The Spanish Musketeer [DVD]

It is surprising that this expansive Spanish film made in 2006 has only just been released to DVD in the UK. Prior to this it was only available as a Spanish import. Aside from the ususal English speaking peoples aversion to sub titled films, the fact that the film is fiercely Spanish may have something to do with that. It is based on a series of historical novels written by Arturo Perez-Reverte set in 17th century Spain, which appear to have the purpose of re-educating Spanish people about their own distinguished history. The hero of the story is battle scarred veteran Diego de Alatriste y Tonorio, and the film follows his adventures from the war in Flanders in 1623 to France in 1643. Alatriste is not your average hero. He is happy to play the role of hired killer in darkened back streets for a few gold coins. Killing is what he does best and he is provided with plenty of opportunities. Even so Alatriste has great loyalty to those he loves and money is not something he covets. He is aware that he is merely a pawn in the grander scheme of things. Alatriste becomes enmeshed in the labyrinthine politics of the time when he spares two men whom he is sent out to murder. This jeopardises his own life and that of his own adopted son.

This film is a far cry from the romantic swashbucklers of a bygone era. This is much more typical of todays love affair with gritty realism. It is no surprise that this is the second most expensive film made in Spain after "Agora". It shows in the superb historical detail. There are many scenes that are clearly influenced by the paintings of Velasquez. There is one in particular where Alatriste reclines in a quiet room that is more painting than film. The paintings of Velasquez feature prominently in the film. 'La Rendicion de Breda' (The Surrender of Breda) being the most memorable. Viggo Mortensen is a revelation in the title role. Given that he has lived as a child in South America and has a bachelor's degree in Spanish he was an excellent choice especially just after his high profile roles in "The Lord of the Rings". Presumably he was seduced by the opportunity of a decent Spanish speaking role. As an artist himself he would also have found the Velasquez connection interesting. Resplendent in wide brimmed hat he exudes screen presence in his role. Spanish people will no doubt recognise his South American accent from Old Castillian but even so it is a highly impressive showing. The battle scenes are superbly staged with an interesting battle taking place with pikes. The blood flows freely but also realistically. The concluding battle scene is a highly stirring climax.

I absolutely adored the films love affair with authenticity and the character of Alatriste is a memorable one. On the downside there is no doubt that these books would have been far better suited to an expensive mini series, rather than being crammed into the films 145 minute running time. Too much information in too short a time! Surprisingly in such a long film it makes everything look very rushed. Even so this is a highly entertaining slice of Spanish history with a lot of strong scenes. Hats off to Mortensen, as the film would never have got off the ground without his participation. He is given good support from a relatively unknown cast who have a lot of fun dressing up in some glorious costumes. If you are a lover of historical epics and don't mind the sub titles then you should enjoy this one.

Spain's most expensive film until Agora came along (and, like this, did great business in Spain and virtually none in the rest of the world), Alatriste is the kind of film that, in theory at least, is right up my alley: a historical epic about a professional soldier in the various Spanish Wars of the 17th century. Unfortunately rather than pick one of the five books with the character written at the time, the producers and writer-director Agustin Diaz Yanes bizarrely try to fill all of them into a 145-minute film, which strangely enough doesn't result in a fast-paced film that races from one half-realized scene to the next but rather results in lots of rather slow and sedate scenes that just happen without too much regard for what comes before or after them - they're just there before the film moves on to the next bit they've decided to use, rather like the way early silent movies would bill themselves as Scenes From Ben-Hur or Scenes from MacBeth. It doesn't help that Viggo Mortensen underplays to the point of semi-comatose, leaving the film with no panache and no-one to really interest you: it's hard to shake the feeling that original choice Antonio Banderas could have put some much-needed fire into the part. It's very handsomely produced even if the budget constraints mean it's the kind of film where you never even see the cities its armies besiege, but when you're an hour into the film and the only moment that particularly impresses is a brief scene of tunnel-fighting in the trenches, you know this isn't going to get much better.

The film sort of picks up around the middle with a fairly good ambush on board a galleon, and there's an okay battle scene before the film finishes (it doesn't really have a climax, it just sort of... stops), but it's one of those films where nothing really comes of it all. Plots are set in motion yet never resolved, conspiracies partially uncovered and then forgotten and characters reappear and disappear without ever leaving you that much the wiser or more entertained. There's absolutely no sense of momentum and not much of a story or character to compensate. You know about as much about the hero at the end as you did five minutes into the film, and nothing he does ever ultimately matters - indeed, for all the throat-cutting on display he doesn't even despatch his arch-enemy himself (though quite why the man is his arch-enemy is never really gone into either). With a better script and a more charismatic lead the film could have made something out of a hero who fights his way through life on the sidelines of history without ever making a real difference, but sadly this one leaves wondering why he merited a movie of his own. A TV series along the same lines as Sharpe would have been a much better idea than this rather dull outing. And casting a woman as a plotting member of the Inquisition was an especially silly idea...

This is an excellent piece of work. At one level it is a grand swash-buckler in the manner of The Three Musketeers. At a second level it is a fine film of the military life of a member of the Old Tercios; the Captain taking us through a canal raid in Flanders, siege operations at Breda and the battle of Rocroi (though Belgium looks rather too sunny). At the third level it is a very interesting comment on the period of retreat of the Spanish Monarchy. Alatriste is the sort of man that the Monarchy depends upon, but he is underpaid, has little future and is trapped in a system of honour that pretty much precludes anything else. In the best Dumas manner there is plenty of intrigue with real high-level characters including Charles I of England (before he ascended the throne). The Count-Duke of Olivares is well sketched. Finally, it is beautifully filmed, some scenes are as if from a Velsaquez painting. A point made when our heroes find themselves in "La rendición de Breda"

I found the books on the Captain to be rather thin stuff, but run together in a single film they provide an excellent story line.