Flesh and Blood - Carcrash in the Middle Ages

There's something weird about 1985's 'Flesh and Blood.' I watched it because I'm a causal fan of its director Paul ('Robocop/Total Recall/Starship Troopers') Verhoven and wondered what his earlier stuff was like.  And - apparently - it's like this... pretty hard to describe.

If you're into your 'film theory' you'll know about 'classic Hollywood narratives' in relation to how a film should be structured.  I swear this film doesn't conform to that theory.  It's about a band of mercenaries who are doublecrossed by a king and set out for revenge by, not only going on a rampage, but also kidnapping the prince's bride-to-be.  Now, that brief plot synopsis may make you think the mercenaries are the 'heroes' (or 'anti-heroes' to be precise).  However, it's hard to see them as particularly heroic due to their (and I use this term politely!) 'deeds' being particularly unsanitary.

Okay, so if they're not the heroes, maybe it's the king's forces who have vowed to hunt them down?  No, not really.  They're not much better.  But wait!  The mercenaries kidnapped the poor bride-to-be - surely she's a 'sympathetic character?' Nah, not particularly.  She kind of goes along with the mercenaries and even struggles to work out who she is actually in love with.

Therefore, what you're left with is a long, violent film with very few characters to root for which bounces back and forth between the two sides, simply taking us bemused viewers along for the ride.  Did I like it?  Not that much, but that doesn't mean I didn't find it worth a watch.  It's like a carcrash where you just can't seem to look away.  It goes in so many random directions that I stuck with it simply because I didn't have a clue how it was going to end or where it was going.

I'm not sure who this is meant for.  I read online that the director said that he was going for more of a 'realistic' take on what the Middle Ages were like, rather than its 'romanticised' portray that other films sometimes use.  Yes, it's pretty 'full-on' when it comes to showing us all the horrors we're long since left behind.  It's not a film that I'd watch often, but in a few years I'd probably give it another go because I've forgotten enough of it to be hooked by its weirdness again.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that