The Reckoning
United Kingdom, Spain
2003
112 Min
Color
2.35:1
English, Latin
Synopsis
In 14th-century England, a young monk breaks his vow of chastity and flees the wrath of his bishop and fellow monks. A fugitive priest, he then witnesses the murder of a traveling performer—and subsequently, the mourning of actor by his fellow troupe members. He eventually becomes initiated into the troupe as a player, replacing the murdered man. They travel from town to town performing their standard morality play. They arrive in a town where a boy has been killed and a young deaf-mute girl has been imprisoned for the crime—sentenced to death for witchcraft and murder. Discarding the expected bible stories, the actors stage a performance based on the crime. Through the performance of the play, they discover that the townspeople know the young woman did not, in fact, commit the murder. The stage becomes a place where vital human truth is told. Thus, simultaneously, the fugitive priest comes to terms with his own crime and makes a powerful sacrifice, thereby redeeming himself. —IMDb
Director
Paul McGuigan
A native of Scotland, Paul McGuigan was a successful photographer in Glasgow before branching out into television commercials and documentary films, including Football, Faith and Flutes, about religion and soccer in Glasgow; and Playing Nintendo With God, about children with AIDS. In 1998 he won the Best Newcomer Award from the Royal Television Society for his short film, The Granton Star Cause. He expanded this into a trilogy based on stories by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh and released it as his first feature length film, The Acid House (1998). The movie won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Stockholm Film Festival, the AMC Audience Award and the Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver at Fantasporto and was named Best Film at the New York Underground Film Festival.
McGuigan next directed the controversial Gangster No. 1 (2000) starring Malcolm McDowell and Paul Bettany—which both dazzled and disturbed audiences with its darkly violent tale of a criminal in London. McGuigan’s… read more
Wall
Displaying 0 wall posts.
Related Films
Fans
Displaying 5 of 6 fans.
Lists
Displaying 5 of 5 lists.
Reviews
No reviews yet — Write the first
Forum
Displaying
0 discussion topics.