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Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (15)
Directed by Arnaud de Pallieres
3 Stars
Loosely based on Heinrich von Kleist's 1811 novella Michael Kohlhaas is a drama about a 16th century character much in the mould of Wat Tyler.
While seeking to trade his horses to fend for his family, Kohlhaas has two of them seized by a local landlord as passage fee. Despite the pleas of the parish priest, he decides to resist.
His action draws in others similarly wronged and he builds a force that frightens the proverbial out of the aristocrats, who are forced to offer reparations if he would consent to the law thereafter.
Eventually Kohlhaas is captured, tried and executed.
Mostly shot against a bleak landscape and starring the magnificent Mads Mikkelsen as the eponymous hero, it's an unrelenting melodrama where justice is ill-served.
The concluding scene courtesy of the conniving court and cleric is an impressive reminder of a grotesque study by Goya.
Jeff Sawtell
