One label I could never give myself is Arthurian expert.  I know the basics.  Like any nerd, I have heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, all legends, of course.  Then again, growing up there was always the mystique of whether there is some basis in fact for these stories.  As I have matured in my knowledge base, I know there are some that like to point to ephemeral historical figures as the originator of a myth that was largely popularized through nineteenth century Romantic and Victorian era writers.  Whether he was a fictional ruler or a sixth century warlord as some contend, what most do not link to this tale are solid Christian connections.  For me, my main source was Disney’s The Sword and the Stone (1963), which focused on young Arthur (voiced by Rickie Sorensen), pre-Camelot, who is tutored by the powerful and wise wizard Merlin (voiced by Karl Swenson).  So, yeah, not the most Christian of approaches to the story. Then there is First Knight (1995), which abandons most of what you may have been told about King Arthur (Sean Connery), but has a whole lot of language a Catholic like me can appreciate.  Is it better than the animated version witch which I grew up and loved?  Read on to find out.

It is difficult to tell from the start whether Lancelot (Richard Gere) is the First Knight, the last one, or anything in between.  What is evident is that he is skilled with a sword and seemingly homeless, traveling the Arthurian countryside (or England, I guess) putting on demonstrations with his blade.  He happens to be in the vicinity of Lyonesse, which is a separate kingdom(?) ruled by Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond).  As she frolics with her people, she learns that one of her villages has been raided by Malagant (Ben Cross).  He is a former knight in the service of King Arthur, even once being a member of the august Round Table.  Malagant had left because he felt King Arthur’s turn to a more peaceful manner of governing lacked true leadership.  As such, it is Lyonesse who first feels his wrath.  As news of the attack comes to Lady Guinivere, it is also time for her to fulfill her promise to King Arthur and travel to Camelot to marry him.  Along the way, Malagant’s cronies are up to their usual no good, nearly kidnapping her.  She is saved by Lancelot, who, as usual, just happens to be in the area.  Not knowing to whom she is betrothed, he is immediately smitten by her.  His advances, despite her commitment to King Arthur, clearly have an effect on her.  Before she departs to return to her escorts, he vows that he will not attempt to kiss her again until she asks for it.  Upon her arrival in Camelot, she is warmly greeted by King Arthur, and she returns his feelings in kind.  Still, especially given the age gap between them, he gives her the choice of walking away from their planned wedding if she wishes.  She assures him that she loves him and that settles the matter.  It is somewhat unsettled, though, when Lancelot shows up in Camelot and wins a kiss from her for being able to complete the gauntlet, without pads, no less (history is more of a suggestion here).  Because she is trying to maintain her place with a man she clearly loves in King Arthur, she does not give Lancelot the smooch.  The king, though, is delighted by this new arrival, but Lancelot declines the invitation to stay.  He is still nearby, though, when Malagant’s forces spring a trap for Lady Guinvere by luring her to the water near Camelot and making off with her.  Malagant’s idea is to force King Arthur to capitulate by holding Lady Guinivere hostage.  Lancelot immediately dives into the water to give chase, eventually rescuing her for Malagant’s sea-side ruin of a castle.  Upon returning to Camelot, King Arthur ups his reward to Lancelot, offering a place at the Round Table.  Not wanting to upset things with her compromised feelings, Lady Guinivere suggests that Lancelot leave, but he opts for taking a spot among the king’s friends.  It is not long after this that a messenger arrives with word that Lyonesse is once more under attack.  This time, King Arthur leads the army to relieve his neighbor, expecting to march into a trap set by Malagant.  Here is the thing about a trap.  When you know it is coming, and those setting do not know that you know, it is them that become the entrapped.  Confused yet?  Good!  In the aftermath of a successful battle, King Arthur leads his soldiers into a ruined Lyonesse.  Lancelot, seeing a barred church door that reminds him of how his parents died, frantically works to remove the barriers to the entrance.  His relief over the fact that the villagers survived shows him that he still has wounds to deal with, and that he is not so fearless as he thought.  As such, he goes to say goodbye to Lady Guinivere, who does not take this development well.  Before he departs, she finally asks for that kiss, and this is the moment at which King Arthur walks in to find them in their embrace.  King Arthur takes it well, and allows the lovebirds to go their way.  Okay, that is not quite his reaction.  He is understandably upset, accusing them of treason and having a trial before all of assembled Camelot . . . which does not appear to be a lot of people, but I digress.  As Lancelot kneels before his king to take responsibility for his actions, the remnants of Malagant’s forces butt in on the proceedings.  Instead of surrendering, King Arthur urges his people to fight on before taking a couple arrows to the chest.  The fight, of course, comes down to Lancelot and Malagant.  Once the bad guys are sorted, King Arthur forgives all with his last breaths and they have a Viking-esque funeral for him.  The end.

As I watched the flaming arrow ignite King Arthur’s funeral pyre at the end of First Knight, I could not help but think that despite all the talk of God and prayer, they missed the boat (pun intended) on giving him a Christian burial.  If you could not guess from my tone to this point, I found the movie to be a bit silly.  What I did enjoy, though, are its talk of prayer and service.  It does not get much better than when King Arthur tells Lancelot to take a night to discern before God whether being a member of the Round Table is right for the vagabond warrior.  How does Lancelot do this?  By kneeling in front of an altar and staring up at a Crucifix.  This fits perfectly with themes found elsewhere in the film.  Throughout, it is preached that doing for others is the ideal, which is personified by Jesus on the Cross.  King Arthur wonderfully puts this message into words in a couple of scenes.  At one point he says that it is in serving others that we become free.  This has parallels with the Bible, such as Galatians 5:13, which says, “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.”  Speaking of love, elsewhere King Arthur reminds Lancelot of the errant knight’s worthiness upon rescuing Lady Guinivere by saying that there is no greater love than to do such as this.  Indeed, King Arthur nearly directly quotes John 15:13, which reads, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  From an individualistic point of view, such rhetoric can seem paradoxical.  The terms freedom and service appear to be contradictory.  The differentiating factor is choice.  In John 10:18, Jesus states, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”  Neither we, nor King Arthur or Lancelot, can take up our lives again once we lay them down.  Yet, if we give ourselves to something bigger, in our case God, it is renewed in Him for eternity.

Nonetheless, an “eternity” is what First Knight will feel like at times as we watch Lady Guinivere get captured, rescued, captured, and rescued again.  I also had a hard time rooting for her character, though I do admire her commitment to her choice.  Matters of the heart are tricky, and while I wish she could have exercised more restraint, she did try.  That is worth something in God’s eyes, and far more than this movie.