Like "Romeo and Juliet," "Tristan and Isolde" is a tale of forbidden love set in the Middle Ages (although it far predates Shakespeare's work both in setting and in origin). In this case, the two young lovers are separated along national lines, with Tristan a young Briton, and Isolde nothing less than the princess of Ireland. As their two countries do battle against one another, the benighted couple tries desperately to make their love work in a bitterly hostile world.
This is a handsome, well-crafted film, glorious to look at but tedious to sit through. Since we've seen so many of these tales already, it's a little hard for us to work up much passion for this one - even if, as we're told, the fate of an entire kingdom hangs on this relationship. Moreover, there is such a profusion of Angles, Saxons, Irish etc. running around on screen that it is often difficult to distinguish one from the other and to know just who is fighting whom (or who is allied with whom) at any given moment.
James Franco and Sophia Myles make for a fairly bland, conventionally modern young couple, but Rufus Sewell provides a subtle, sympathetic performance as the man who both raises Tristan and marries Isolde.
If Medieval romances are your cup of tea, by all means check out "Tristan and Isolde," but there are far better tales of unrequited love around than this one.
