Centurion – Movie ReviewCenturionThe film Centurion takes place in 117 A.D., a time when the Roman army was struggling to contain a group of Scottish Celts called the Picts. It tells the story of a small group of Roman soldiers who, after killing the Pict leader’s son, become hunted by the wild Picts. Despite the Romans’ atrocities, the audience is supposed to sympathize and root for their escape from the notorious and frightening “other.”
The film portrays the Picts wholly as barbarians, savages, and a demon threat to civilization. The women are depicted as brutal warriors who revel in violence and blood as much as the men, and who value loyalty above all else. At one point in the film, the Roman legion seeks shelter in the hut of a Pictish woman. She is skilled in potions and herbs, and seems to have magical, druidess properties. This furthers the popular notion that Celtic women were skilled warriors and potion masters, a stereotypical ideal that may or may not be accurate. Modern society has created an image of the Celtic woman, evidenced by Keira Knightley’s portrayal in King Arthur, that is highly sexualized and violent: the women are depicted as near naked, war hungry, and witch-like.
‚[1]The second film, “A Feast for Crows,” depicts the Celts performing an elaborate ritual: Crows make a fast escape from the Tower of London in the summer of 1716, followed by another battle, and finally the final battle of the year – complete with a feast of Crows.
‚[2]The first film, “The Great Game,” portrays the Celts as a race of savage swarms and hunters, not religious warriors but a shadowy army of sorcerers and demons. It depicts a Roman legion setting out from a monastery, while the warriors in the second film are treated as barbarians.
‚[3]‘The film uses this idea by depicting how the great war at the Battle of Trafalgar, which took place in 1614 brought the medieval Celts into the British and Northern European kingdoms where they were involved before the modern Roman Empire, a very different scene and situation than anything the Celts might have had to contend with, or at least what could have happened if the Roman or French armies had been able to secure control of the area and capture the city they occupied.‹
‚[4] The third film, “Ancient Heroes,” depicts the Celts fighting over the ruins of the temple of Artemis, which stood on site at Gaius in the north Indian country, and then fighting the army of Rome to reclaim the site. The movie captures the Celts as a race united by loyalty, and the Romans as a dark, barbarian race who were at the top of the most brutal, if ever.‹
‚[5]„‗There have been some issues with this film with the cast who often used the language of the movie. Most notable and disturbing is the fact that as the film progresses, the Celts seem more aware of their situation, including with their own actions at each other’s command, particularly when it comes to other men within the army who are not, as the film portrays them, members of their own sort.‹ And the plot seems to indicate that while Roman soldiers often fought on their own, the Celts are all in on the action of the war. What is clear, however, is that the Roman army, when seen in this way, is far too small and weak to win the war and ultimately is more capable of carrying this war on its own. The problem with the characterizations as too small, when the Celts are not fighting on their own, is that there are clear references to Roman soldiers in all the scenes.›
‚[6] When the Romans captured Gaius in 1592, they did so with the purpose of taking back parts of the temple once and for all but not letting the Gauls know how far they were going. The real problem here is the lack of knowledge—there is nothing in the script that explicitly states they will
‚[1]The second film, “A Feast for Crows,” depicts the Celts performing an elaborate ritual: Crows make a fast escape from the Tower of London in the summer of 1716, followed by another battle, and finally the final battle of the year – complete with a feast of Crows.
‚[2]The first film, “The Great Game,” portrays the Celts as a race of savage swarms and hunters, not religious warriors but a shadowy army of sorcerers and demons. It depicts a Roman legion setting out from a monastery, while the warriors in the second film are treated as barbarians.
‚[3]‘The film uses this idea by depicting how the great war at the Battle of Trafalgar, which took place in 1614 brought the medieval Celts into the British and Northern European kingdoms where they were involved before the modern Roman Empire, a very different scene and situation than anything the Celts might have had to contend with, or at least what could have happened if the Roman or French armies had been able to secure control of the area and capture the city they occupied.‹
‚[4] The third film, “Ancient Heroes,” depicts the Celts fighting over the ruins of the temple of Artemis, which stood on site at Gaius in the north Indian country, and then fighting the army of Rome to reclaim the site. The movie captures the Celts as a race united by loyalty, and the Romans as a dark, barbarian race who were at the top of the most brutal, if ever.‹
‚[5]„‗There have been some issues with this film with the cast who often used the language of the movie. Most notable and disturbing is the fact that as the film progresses, the Celts seem more aware of their situation, including with their own actions at each other’s command, particularly when it comes to other men within the army who are not, as the film portrays them, members of their own sort.‹ And the plot seems to indicate that while Roman soldiers often fought on their own, the Celts are all in on the action of the war. What is clear, however, is that the Roman army, when seen in this way, is far too small and weak to win the war and ultimately is more capable of carrying this war on its own. The problem with the characterizations as too small, when the Celts are not fighting on their own, is that there are clear references to Roman soldiers in all the scenes.›
‚[6] When the Romans captured Gaius in 1592, they did so with the purpose of taking back parts of the temple once and for all but not letting the Gauls know how far they were going. The real problem here is the lack of knowledge—there is nothing in the script that explicitly states they will
The film Centurion does nothing to explore the complexities behind Celtic culture, rather, they indulge in almost stereotype that exists. The Pictish men are brutal, and the amount of graphic violence is staggering. Rather than represented as a group of people who are avenging the killing of a young boy, they are characterized as ruthless and primitive. Their homes, way of life, and clothing is illustrated as primal and un-evolved, a sharp contrast to the civilized, clean, and more intelligent Romans.
The film’s depiction of the Picts as barbaric directly corresponds to the readings we read in class by Roman scouts, such as the writings of Caesar. The Romans’ opinion of the Celts was a mixture of abject terror