Black Death

A Movie Review

by Thomas A. Middleton

“The fumes of the dead hung in the air like poison. The plague… more cruel and more pitiless than war… had descended upon us. The pestilence that would leave half our kingdom dead, where did it come from? what carried it’s germ? The priests told us it was God’s punishment… for what sin? What commandment must we break that would earn this? No, we knew the truth. This was not God’s work, but devilry… or witchcraft. And our task… to hunt down a demon… was God’s cure.”

Set in Wales in the year of Our Lord1348, Black Death is an epic tale of war between good and evil; historical fiction, masterfully presented.  These actors have captured the essence of 14th century European Catholicism, seen through their battle with wickedness.  They have brought light to the legacy of the Church of the middle ages, often darkly portrayed by history. This film does not present lives of known saints, but it speaks for countless silent martyrs who are known but to God. In this tale, many overcome sin, stand - and die – martyred with Christ. Many denounce God and are lost. Countless die. The young surviving monk, though once redeemed, is deeply scarred…perhaps to madness…perhaps to worse.

When I first saw this movie, I was not yet a student of Church History. I thought the writers were attacking our beloved Church, presenting the sins of the Christians and the virtues of the fallen. Having studied Catholicism more deeply now, I appreciate the full impact of this portrayal of man’s ongoing struggle with evil. In the triumph of very human martyrs, we find hope for victory in eternal life.
As a Catholic, I noted the Bishop’s men had ample opportunity for confession, but they did not confess. Their sin seemed to invite the devil into their hearts, and he tempted them greatly while their minds were darkened. Nowhere was this more clearly portrayed than in the young monk, Osmond. Despite his vow of celibacy, he has a lover, and she begs him to leave the monastery with her. Sworn to his monastery as well as to celibacy, he will not betray God. “We already have”, she quips as she promises to wait for him every morning at dawn for one week, at a martyrs cross in Denbigh Forrest, after which she will be gone forever.

An envoy arrives from the Bishop, requesting a guide from the monastery for a trip into Denbigh Forrest. The Abbot is loath to give them a monk, but as the young Brother Desmond hears of this request, he discerns a way to leave the monastery honorably, and perhaps to meet his lover once again.

The film begins with a narrator, speaking over scenes of the dead falling from the plague. There is a scene of very young monks prostate on the floor before the crucifix (presumably being ordained into the priesthood with minimal priestly formation).

Though described by the Abbot as only a novice, Brother Osmond is apparently ordained a priest prior to his quest, for he later grants absolution to a dying man. History tells us that inadequately trained priests contributed to a host of problems, and these are represented in this film by the very youth of the main character, Brother Osmond .

Ostensibly he volunteers to guide the Bishop’s men because he knows well the great marsh in which a remote village is said to be located, protected from the plague by a heretical necromancer… someone who raises the dead to life. In reality, however, Brother Osmond is hoping to meet up with his lover at the appointed place.

This provides us with remarkable insight into the history and the state of the faith at the time. The disembodied narrator’s voice takes shape as one of the Bishop’s men, and in an early scene he goes on to explain his own belief. He was once part of “God’s greatest army” which was ordered by the English king, after defeating the French, to disregard the mercy of chivalry, to rip apart every surviving French soldier showing not an ounce of mercy.
All of the Bishop’s men, it seems, are of the Catholic faith but they are a rough bunch. Battle scarred, tough… even ruthless perhaps, exactly the sort one would send on a quest to dispatch a necromancer.
The Bishop’s men arrive at the remote village to find a curious people. They no longer practice the Christian faith, uncomfortable when the Christians pray before eating. Their spiritual demise illustrated by the now-abandoned church in their midst, complete with a primitive Celtic cross. Much like Satan would be, for he too once was an angel and remembers God, the villagers remember what a sin is, recognize the Lord’s Prayer and speak of the commandments.

The kindness shown to the Bishop’s men by the fallen seems at first to be quite a remarkable demonstration of morality in the absence of a belief in God. Outside of a belief in God, some people behave morally just so that society runs smoothly. We soon learn, however, that it was a trap. The men are fed wine laced with heavy sedatives, and are soon taken prisoner and placed in a cage to be murdered one by one.

The lead witch of the village shows Brother Osmond the “dead” body of his lover, leading Osmond to believe she is dead though in fact the witch merely drugged the girl. While they are away, the other men drink heavily of the drugged wines, collapse and are captured.

The woman arranges for Brother Osmond to “witness” from a distance as the woman leads a coven of witches, reaching into a fresh grave to “raise” his lover back to life. We later learn that she never was dead. Nonetheless, Brother Osmond is terrified and runs away. He concludes that his lover’s spirit is in purgatory, and the necromancer has somehow resurrected her body through devilry.

The climax of the movie is incredibly well done. Once with her, Brother Osmond finds that his lover is quite mad. Believing this is purgatory for her, he stabs her to death as a way to set her free. He frees his men, and a huge fight ensues in which most of them are killed along with their captors. The witch escapes, and the movie ends with Brother Osmond spending the rest of his days searching for her, killing random women who resemble her in his broken mind.

This movie was made to entertain, not to teach history, but it actually does a remarkable job of both. In all fairness to history, though, it is important to flesh out some of what the movie only dealt with lightly. The black plague did indeed decimate Europe, taking the lives of 50 million people in the 14th century, or perhaps 60% of the population. The brightest medical minds of the age were accurately represented in the film by the witch with her herbs and poultices. There was also a scene featuring men performing penance by carrying a huge cross in a river while whipping themselves.

During the black plague, as many as half of the priests fell to the disease. It was no surprise, since these selfless men went to the afflicted and the dying to render the sacraments, exposing themselves to the disease while growing exhausted by the constant ministering to their flocks with death all around them.

What made this movie so compelling for me was the intertwining of so many factors which continue to exert great influence today, and the opportunity to explain these historical influences to my son. There was the Church’s view of demonology at the time, the tale of jilted lovers, the struggle for celibacy, the returning Christian soldiers who knew no other line of work, and this curious band of witches. My son and I normally watch AMC’s The Walking Dead together, and frequently use their story lines to discuss concepts of good and evil, courage, perseverance as well as survival tactics in the event of disaster. The special effects in Black Death were very much on par with those used in The Walking Dead.

Since Black Death provided all of these elements and added the opportunity to discuss the temptation in general, the presence of evil in our lives, the Middle Ages, Catholic Church History, demonology, date-rape drugs, ethics among non-Christians, and the importance of the Sacraments in our lives, this movie was a stellar learning tool while providing riveting entertainment. I rate this movie a hearty ten out of ten.

Black Death. Perf. Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Carice Van Houten. Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2010. DVD.