In the intro to 'Oro', the writer says of the protagonists:
"they were harsh, arrogant, cruel, often divided by quarrels... They killed without scruples and died without protest, in search of gold..."
The rest of the movie is a long, plodding death march illustrating the above points in one brutal incident after another. I was attracted to 'Oro' because of the involvement of Arturo Pérez-Reverte, author of the 'Alatriste' novels, and Agustín Díaz Yanes, the director and screenwriter of the movie version with Viggo Mortensen. As it turn outs though, the cast of 'Oro' is basically a bunch of minor characters from the Alatriste novels while the only thing it has in common with the Mortensen movie is the stabby, throat-slitting viciousness of the fight scenes. The artistry and athleticism of the swordsmen in 'Captain Alatriste' is nowhere to be seen.
I gave 'Oro' a five on the IMDb scale. It's worth seeing if you're really into the period or the creative people involved; if not, you probably want to give it a pass.
"they were harsh, arrogant, cruel, often divided by quarrels... They killed without scruples and died without protest, in search of gold..."
The rest of the movie is a long, plodding death march illustrating the above points in one brutal incident after another. I was attracted to 'Oro' because of the involvement of Arturo Pérez-Reverte, author of the 'Alatriste' novels, and Agustín Díaz Yanes, the director and screenwriter of the movie version with Viggo Mortensen. As it turn outs though, the cast of 'Oro' is basically a bunch of minor characters from the Alatriste novels while the only thing it has in common with the Mortensen movie is the stabby, throat-slitting viciousness of the fight scenes. The artistry and athleticism of the swordsmen in 'Captain Alatriste' is nowhere to be seen.
I gave 'Oro' a five on the IMDb scale. It's worth seeing if you're really into the period or the creative people involved; if not, you probably want to give it a pass.