Weekly Witch Hunt: The Outlaw of Torn & Bitter Harvest

We decide what artistic endeavour passed approval to earn the Scorcher label from the past seven days & what also had the dishonour of being that week's Torture...

So this week I explored an old story about a tyrant terrorising Ye Olde England and then went on to watch a film about a true tyrant causing genocide in the Ukraine.  One of these was well written; the other, not so much.

The Scorcher

I do like to discover books from a different age that are able to still get your pulse racing and have you turning each page in eager anticipation.  One such author who often is able to get my attention in this way is Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I have previously enjoyed John Carter's adventures on Barsoom; as well as his Caspak series.  So I was more than happy to dive into one of his historical adventures The Outlaw of Torn.
This is a book about a master swordsman who betrays his king by kidnapping his son and leaving the king and queen heartbroken; not knowing if their son is alive or dead.
The reasons for the villain Jules De Vac's treachery are paper thin but every story has to start somewhere.  Why didn't he just bugger off back to France years ago if he had such a problem with the English he was serving, that's my question?  Anyhow far be it for me to judge the mind of an insulted proud French knight.
De Vac kidnaps the kings son Richard who he renames Norman and raises him as his son.  He teaches him swordsmanship as well as hatred towards all Englishmen.  He becomes an outlaw and terror to all who venture near to the territory of Torn where they choose to live; hence the title.
A kindly priest that Norman befriends adds balance to his life and opens his eyes to some of his harsher ways.  Norman's inner turmoil is one of the most enjoyable aspects explored in this character.  It is his upbringing that has made him what he is but deep down there is that moral conflict eating him up.  He questions the true motivations of De Vac and comes to realise there is more to his life than banditry.
His life takes on true meaning once he meets Bertrade who he will fall madly in love with.  This in turn will send events in his life spiralling to the final conclusion as he heads towards redemption or oblivion.
I love that you can read this and question the whole way through if you want to see Norman succeed in his quest for Bertrade's hand in marriage; or if you want to see him hung as the criminal he was raised to be.  You want De Vac to get his comeuppance certainly; but by the same token opinions will vary from one chapter to the next on Norman.
As formulaic as some of the story is; there are still a couple of surprises that you might not see coming.  I don't want to spoil any but a couple of gruesome things take place that really took me by surprise.
There are many books that have a similar pattern to The Outlaw of Torn.  Much like a lot of sci-fi and fantasy that follow Edgar Rice Burroughs blueprints; you have to wonder if this book has had similar influences on more modern works.  If anything this novel has me more convinced what a true master storyteller Edgar Rice Burroughs was in life.

The Torture
 

I don't think I have watched a film that has dragged on and on like this in a long time.  Bitter Harvest is only 103 minutes in length but feels like an eternity.  That is because there is nothing, absolutely nothing endearing about this heavy handed; overly melodramatic (historical) movie.
You might wonder at the parenthesis used there and I am not denying the horrific events of the Holodomor in any way shape or form.  What took place during the early 1930's between Russia and the genocide of the Ukrainian population was terrible and deserves to be brought to the attention of the wider population.
Using these tragic events as a backdrop to a story about a romance is certainly not the way to do it; especially when the execution is so poorly handled.  This could have been set during any devastating event in history and would have still told the same tale.  None of the events occurring in the Holodomor have any real impact on the story.  It could just as easily been French resistance fighters during WWII; or Scottish highlanders during the Jacobite risings.
The point here is that the filmmakers wanted a setting that hadn't really been used before; a harsh environment to place this couple in; and against all odds have them survive to be together at the end.  The care and compassion shown to the subject matter should be at the forefront; making the final reunion all the more satisfying, but the filmmakers treats the Holodomor with irrelevance.
Instead they throw in a few vignettes of a wagon of crops rolling past a few supposedly starving people (no one actually looks like they have missed one meal, let alone not eaten in days). Or they will have a Russian soldier carry out a murder and we then view the subsequent funeral that has to be shown in slow motion for extra dramatic effect.  All of this misses the mark completely of really portraying the atrocities committed.
The films style and execution has the look of a bad midday telemovie.  The happy moments are all colourful and brightly lit.  Once things start to sour the colour pallet changes to dark grey and monotone colours.  None of this is done with any subtlety.  Just in case you missed the tonal shifts the music is there to constantly remind you what sort of scene you are watching and how you are supposed to feel about what is onscreen.
Added to the poor direction are the sub-par performances from all the actors.  Max Irons isn't a strong enough actor to carry this film on his own; which he pretty much has to try and do being the main focal point.  He is drab and bland and looks like he can't be bothered half the time.
Terrence Stamp is totally unbelievable as a sword wielding Cossack and looks all of his 78 years of age.  This is all the more comical when he has not one, but two sword fights with the physically imposing and much younger Tamer Hassan's Sergei.  Hassan looks like it would take him all of five seconds to take care of Stamp.  You almost feel embarrassed for him as he holds back on swinging his sword so his much older opponent can get back into a fighting stance.
Sergei is such a stock standard moustache twirling bad guy that at any moment you expect him to turn to the camera and start laughing maniacally.  All of the Russians are portrayed as such.  Then again the Ukrainians aren't treated much better; the rural populace are clearly gypsy peasants and the residents who live in Kiev are obviously more refined middle class citizens.  The stereotyping is mind-blowing.
Honestly this film has nothing that I can recommend about it.  It is 103 minutes of my life I won't get back.  All in all the historical events deserve a far better cinema representation that will treat this tragedy with the care and integrity it deserves.