Fleisch & Blut (1985)

Fleisch u0026 Blut: Directed by Paul Verhoeven. With Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson, Jack Thompson. In medieval Europe, a young girl from a noble family is obsessed with her captors – commoners.

“This film is definitely off the beaten track. I enjoyed it a lot, and thought that there were some truly stand-out performances here, notably Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Some other actors and actresses that I didnu0026#39;t recognize were excellent. The tone is relentlessly bleak as befits the times. A couple of scenes put the times in perspective. One is where Agnes and Stephen talk and flirt beneath the hanging corpses without giving much thought to what we would consider today the horrid nature of such a sight. Another is towards the end, when one of the women has been captured (Polly, I think) and is being raped, and the lord (Stephenu0026#39;s father) simply walks past, barely noticing. I donu0026#39;t know if they are simply there for shock value, or if Verhoeven is making the point that one cannot judge mores, morals, and customs of past ages by the standards of today. (Something done quite a bit these days, most notably about slavery.) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome of the criticisms in other comments are valid. True, none of the characters are very likeable. I was sort of hoping that they would all be dead by the end of the movie. But, again, Iu0026#39;m judging them by 21st century standards. Also, about the plague. Iu0026#39;m sure Verhoeven knows that plague is spread by rat fleas, so all of the machinations about the plague has to be from peopleu0026#39;s points of view in 1501-2. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film is worth viewing, but donu0026#39;t expect gallantry, chivalry, or even decency. And no, itu0026#39;s really not a u0026quot;date movieu0026quot; Grade: A”