Tristan and Isolde: The Movie

1. The beginning of the movie begins with a battle scene to help set the background problems between both countries. Although the beginning of the book starts off with Tristan killing Morholt, the movie had to ease into the situation. It is harder to accept things in a movie when they are happening to quickly. You cannot fully understand everything that is going on within the story until there is a plot line. Beginning the story with the information that Britain and Ireland have always been fighting, you look at the story from a different angle. Tristan and Isolde are almost more like Romeo and Juliet in that they are from families and countries that hate one another. Throughout the whole movie, there is always a rivalry between Ireland and Britain, which makes their love even more scandalous.

2. I actually like that the movie does not have the love potion in it. It is more realistic and actually serves the story as an actual love story. Tristan and Isolde fall in love and unknowingly put themselves in a situation where Isolde must be given to King Mark. It is is a more sentimental view of their love and not one where Tristan and Isolde are constantly blaming one another or the love potion for their mishap. I personally, am able to sympathize more with Tristan and Isolde more in the movie than the book, mainly because they are truly in love, not forced into love by the love potion.

I personally really liked this movie. It might have been because I had seen it many times before actually reading the book, but I thought that it was a good interpretation on it. Although many things in the movie were switched around from the book, I felt that the love story of Tristan and Isolde will be a story that I never forget, thanks to the movie. I know that that may sound corny, or stupid, considering many people did not care for the movie, but I actually was able to cope with Tristan and Isolde's love because it was real, not a fake like the love potion made it.