Arn – The Knight Templar

Actors:  Joakim Natterquist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgard, Bibi Anderson, Michael Nyquist
Rating:  7 out of 10, I guess this is Sweden’s answer to Braveheart with the story of star crossed lovers separated at an early age when she’s sent to a convent and he goes about crusading in the holy land.  The movie switches between three or four languages but the story is fairly compelling.  I later learned this was two movies that were combined for international release and looking back that was kind of evident.  Natterquist as Arn has real screen presence and he evolves from a clueless teenager to a grizzled middle aged warrior over the course of the film and is believable in each incarnation.  The battle scenes started out impressively staged but there wasn’t a follow through during the actual battles which strained credulity.  All that being said, I really liked this.
MVP:  Natterquist as Arn, a very dangerous man