It’s been teasing me from the video store shelves since the nineties, until the VHS format disappeared and soon Nostradamus was lost also. Well, until the other day when I found it on blu-ray at Amazon.de, and I ordered it directly. I didn’t know it at the time, but behind the camera is one of the more interesting genre directors alive, nowadays a hired gun for DTV productions, and more famous for his enormous scientology propaganda fiasco Battlefield Earth, a movie that still is quite entertaining even if it sucks. I remember when it came out in Sweden and me and my pal Joel decided to dare to go and see it. When we arrived to the cinema the staff actually let us go in for free, because they didn’t want us to pay for it! Very kind and very appreciated afterwards.
But lets get back to Roger Christian. This UK talent first started out as art director (on Alien and Life of Brian) and second unit director on two Star Wars movies. In 1982 he directed the utterly brilliant and highly original The Sender and then spent the rest of the decade churning out competent but easily forgotten thrillers and sci-fi (and lately two entertaining cheapos, Stranded and Prisoners of the Sun). But in 1994, somehow, he got the gig directing a big budget euro mess, the form of films I love, about the infamous prophet and scientist who during the the latter part of his life published cryptic poems telling us about the awful future of the world.
A co-production between the UK, Germany, France and Romania, it of course offers a fantastic cast. Carrying the film in one of his best performances is Tchéky Karyo - as Nostradamus himself. We follow the little genius from kidhood to death, fighting against superstition and stupidity, and at the same time getting more and more violent and graphic visions of things to come. The movie begins with a nightmare, crumbling modern cities, ghostly skyscrapers with frail ground underneath. It’s like an alien world, but seen from the man living in 16th century. No wonder he got scared shitless in that first scene. He finds a cure to the plague, at least if it’s treated early, finds love, gets children and then slowly see everything crumbling around him - just like those skyscrapers in the vision.
I’m not familiar with the life and work of Nostradamus, except what I’ve read on Wikipedia, in speculative books about supernatural things and of course the cheesy AND underrated Judas Priest album Nostradamus. That’s about it. But I feel I’ve learned something by watching this movie, or maybe it’s the seriousness of the storytelling that fools me. This is a serious film, it’s a gritty, dark look into a time where people still where a bit more stupid than they are today, and at least one person tries to do something different - even if he himself is plagued by stuff he can’t cope with. Karyo is SO impressive as the man himself, but there’s also F. Murray Abraham - always very reliable, Julia Ormond as the love of his life, Rutger Hauer in a great cameo, Amanda Plummer, Michael Gough - and what I think it’s an uncredited Christoph Waltz. Everyone is perfectly cast, which makes the whole production even more enjoyable.
While it’s more focused on the daily drama in the world of Michel de Nostradamus and his family, friends and foes, the visions we see from time to time elevates this from just being a normal historical drama to something else, something more mystical. Shot with, it seems, just natural light sources and a big focus on realism, these dreamlike sequences of doom makes it a beautiful, haunting film to watch. In the end we might never learn if there was any truth in what Nostradamus claimed he saw - maybe he was just a con artist, or a madman...or maybe there was something in what he wrote down during those last years.
After all these years teasing me Nostradamus was worth waiting for. The German blu-ray looks alright and is well worth buying. Not sure if it’s censored in anyway - we all know how the Germans mistreat their culture - but it feels complete and has both nudity and some violence. So if it’s cut it’s not completely clean-shaven from adult material.
"I remember when it came out in Sweden and me and my pal Joel decided to dare to go and see it. When we arrived to the cinema the staff actually let us go in for free, because they didn’t want us to pay for it! Very kind and very appreciated afterwards."
hahahahhahahhah....no...?
Really?
You must have dreamed that.......I mean.....that´s just great.
"in speculative books about supernatural things"
Yep, I read about him one of those books too......cool predictions.
"of course the cheesy AND underrated Judas Priest album Nostradamus."
JP huh...?
Some songs are very nice....
"Karyo is SO impressive as the man himself, but there’s also F. Murray Abraham - always very reliable, Julia Ormond as the love of his life, Rutger Hauer in a great cameo, Amanda Plummer, Michael Gough"
Great cast as you say.....it was kinda popular to do these expensive biopics(and still is) with great cast, some flopped, others did decent business.
Like 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Tombstone (1993), Gettysburg (1993) , Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) etc.
"In the end we might never learn if there was any truth in what Nostradamus claimed he saw - maybe he was just a con artist, or a madman...or maybe there was something in what he wrote down during those last years."
Yeah, just like the Voynich manuscript, Atlantis or Vinland map.
http://www.svtplay.se/historiska-hemligheter
They cast a long shadow of doubt on history.....
"Not sure if it’s censored in anyway - we all know how the Germans mistreat their culture - but it feels complete and has both nudity and some violence. So if it’s cut it’s not completely clean-shaven from adult material."
Ahhhhhh.....ze germans...they are crazy......great review and thanks Fred, I haven´t seen it yet.
And it looks more entertaining than Cloud Atlas (2012), Lincoln (2012) , Blue Valentine (2010).
Posted by: Megatron | October 08, 2014 at 23:57