In discussion with his fans last December, Alexandre Astier returned to the different influences of “Kaamelott – First part” and in particular on the narrative structure of the film, which takes up the archetype called “the angel of death”.
Released in theaters last summer, Kaamelott – First part is set 10 years after the end of the famous series, and tells in particular of Arthur’s return to the Kingdom of Logres, after a decade of exile. While the former king of Brittany thought he was definitely done with the crown, he finds himself constrained and forced to return to the front of the stage, despite himself.
A return that some fans were tempted to compare with that of the Jedi – aka Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga – duringa digital meeting with Alexandre Astier which was organized by Fnac last December. The filmmaker then retorted to them that his feature film had a priori no relation to The Return of the Jedi, but that it was on the other hand referring to another type of film:
“If you want to get into technique, Kaamelott is an archetype of the angel of death”explained Astier.
“It’s got a huge name, but it’s a lot less huge than that. It’s about all the movies that are usually about an old villain, like Unforgiven, for example. (Ruthless) or Carlito’s Way (The Impasse) or Heat. Generally, there is one last move to be made. The guy wanted to step down, and actually he’s got to make one last move.”
Warner Bros.
Indeed, like Clint Eastwood in Merciless or Al Pacino in L’Impasse, King Arthur finds himself overtaken by his destiny in the first part of Kaamelott.
“(…) Doing this last blow, it re-snaps him”continues Astier. “It’s a bit of a biblical kind of thing that says that once you’ve been part of a morally low world, you can’t really leave it. The ancient monsters pull you by the suspenders and bring you back. That’s what happens in almost the majority of these films. And this is the case with Kaamelott.”
SND
Brought back to the Kingdom of Logres by the bounty hunter Alzagar and welcomed by the Duke of Aquitaine who describes to him the terrible situation in which the world finds itself since Lancelot took power, Arthur finds himself once again obliged to do what he was born: to govern Brittany.
“While he thought he would get out of it in 5 minutes, he sits down again at the Round Table, and he goes back to Kaamelott, and he knocks out the bad guy. And suddenly, here we go again, he has his feet in it”explains Astier.
While waiting to find out how Arthur Pendragon’s career in the cinema will continue, find our interview with Alexandre Astier for “Kaamelott – Premier Volet”…