....or how History repeats itself.At the end of the 8th century,the Basques beat Charlemagne in Roncevaux in the Pyrénées mountains !When Bergerac evokes his ancestors' feat,he was historically accurate;later the chanson de geste "la chanson de Roland " (which enhanced Charlemagne's so-called nephew count Roland) forgot the Basques and turned them into Sarrazins. ....so the end of the movie is a second "Roncevaux" ,the Indians replacing good old Carolus Magnus and his fair knights.For the rest of the movie,as I do not know anything about the basques traditions,I will not argue with the precedent users who complain about the lack of knowledge of basque culture of the writers.The director used a lot of French actors -Heyward and Chandler are like Martians in such a company- ,all virtually unknown in their native country,even the lead Bergerac.This is a rather short film,mainly if we consider that the beginning consists of singing and dancing (Heyward 's flamenco,more Spanish than Basque,being one of the highlights of a fairly tepid story).
Sometimes the Basques speak French,most of the time English,even between them,which makes the story unconvincing.Susan Heyward,as gorgeous as ever,contents herself with a few words .
Sometimes the Basques speak French,most of the time English,even between them,which makes the story unconvincing.Susan Heyward,as gorgeous as ever,contents herself with a few words .