The Brothers Lionheart
9-year old Karl Lejon, 'Skorpan' is suffering from tuberculosis and knows that he will die soon. But his older brother Jonathan tries to comfort him by promising that they one day will meet in Nangijala, a magic country beyond the stars. Jonathan dies soon after in a house fire and Skorpan also passes away not long after.
They meet in Nangijala, a country divided into the Cherry Blossom Valley and the Briar-Bush Valley. The people in the later are oppressed by the black knight Tengil and his dragon Katla. The two brothers, who now call themselves Jonathan and Karl Lion Heart, decide to help the freedom fighters against the oppression. This was a favourite of mine when I was a kid and it's still a haunting and beautiful story.
This adaption of Lindgren's story (which I owned too) has to be considered a success (if not wholly a triumph). In our sanitised world, a children's film that contains death, loss, pain, illness, treachery and sacrifice seems strangely out of place. It takes a heart of stone not to tear up not even 5 minutes into the film, and again at the end. In my opinion, children are very well capable of bearing the weight of death, in story as well as in real life.
Maybe they have to be accompanied, but keeping such themes from them makes for a poorer education. The film itself still holds up remarkably well. The sets, the horses and the outdoor scenes are beautiful.
The costumes are rather laughable and the monster looks as if escaped from Spectro-Man, but at the point where we first see it you're so deep inside the story it really doesn't matter much. The camera-work is simple, but effective.
The acting is so-so, but mostly adequate. The music isn't good except for a few moments where it's really gripping. I heard that there's a new adaption of this book in development, and while I'm curious as to what better production values and a professional soundtrack can do for the story, I wish they'll stay with the dark and haunting mood and maybe even incorporate more of the book.
The Brothers Lionheart By Astrid Lindgren
.Contact:Astrid Lindgren on the Web:The Brothers LionheartThe Ultimate Children's Adventure FantasyThe Brothers Lionheart is a very different story from Astrid Lindgren, who is known more for her humorous stories of children living in cozy families. This one is an adventure saga and quite an unconventional one at that. It is one of the most celebrated works of children's fiction that includes death as a vital story element. It is a story of optimism - a story that clearly tells that there is life beyond that, and a very interesting and eventful life at that.To cut a long story short, The Brothers Lionheart is a story about Karl, a 10 year old who is suffering from a terminal illness, and his 13 year old brother Jonatan.
Both brothers die in the beginning of the story, but as Jonatan had been telling Karl when he was alive, they meet again in the land beyond the starts, the Nangijala. However, this land is far from paradise. There is strife here too. Parts of the land, the Thorne Rose Valley to be precise, have been taken over by Tengil, an evil warlord. He now threatens to take over the Cherry Valley where the children live with Sofia.
Jonatan works as a gardener for Sofia while she provides them food.The children, especially Jonatan, are stirred by a sense of duty. He goes without his brother Karl to find a solution for the problem that faces the Cherry Valley in the form of Tengil.
He meets Orvar, a freedom fighter who is trying to fight off Tengil too. Karl and Sofia catch on, and together they form a band of freedom fighters.The story takes several twists and turns in explaining how the resistance movement tries to keep Tengil's evil maneuvers at bay. Their efforts are largely thwarted by the fact that Tengil controls a vicious she-dragon named Katla. However, in the end, good conquers evil.But Jonatan is injured. He knows he is going to die even in this world, the Nangijala. He tells Karl that it is time for him to pass on to the next world, Nangilima, which is the real paradise and where there is no strife.
Karl decides to help Jonatan pass on to this world and because he cannot live without his brother, he passes on too for a happy life in Nangilima.The story has several lessons to teach the children. It is one of the best works on children fiction that deal with brotherly love and sacrifice. The lesson that even laying down one's life for a brother is not unjustified is quite poignant here. At the same time, there is a moral of a sense of duty that drives the tale. The fight for the freedom is interspersed with various incidents of rank heroism and bravery, which are excellent examples to put in front of children especially in the kind of world we are living in today.The Brothers Lionheart has also been criticized for showing that death is a solution to problems. However, this is only metaphorical.
The real intention is to show that there is optimism even in the bitterest of struggles and only a spirit that knows it can conquer everything can really sally forth in the world.