Druids Reviews

This interminable epic about besieged clansman demonstrates both gall and Gaul, since it takes forever to chronicle an obscure historical insurrection. In 60B.C., Vercingetorix (Christopher Lambert) seems the logical choice to unify his people against Caesar's occupation of the Celtic Isles. Years before, Vercingetorix's father fell victim to collusion by collaborators eager to appease Caesar (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and consolidate their own power. Now, Caesar dusts off his divide-and-conquer strategy by offering the Druids half of all the booty they seize if they help him roust Barbarian tribes from Britain. Expecting the Druids to come out losers, Caesar figures his offer will weaken both enemies. But Vercingetorix's mentor, Archbishop Guttuart (Max Von Sydow), has trained him in the art of war games, and they both see through Caesar's ploy. After Roman spies assassinate Dumnorix (Bernard Pierre Donnadieu), the only Druid chieftain to defy Rome, Vercingetorix realizes his renegades must boot the Romans out of Gaul without any political compromises. To do so, he insists the peasants burn their crops to eliminate the Roman soldiers' food supply, an idea that doesn't sit well with Druid leaders used to getting three square meals a day. When Caesar retaliates with a slaughter of innocents, Vercingetorix marshals his defenses. Rallying the troops with a cry of "Victory or Death!" Vercingetorix fortifies his fortress, digs in his sandal heels and assaults the enemy in a series of battles. But can Vercingetorix ultimately outfox master tactician Caesar? Between the hard-to-pronounce character names, Lambert's over-the-top thesping and the dense thicket of historical data that must be nogociated in order for the story to make any sense, this epic is fit only for Visigoths.