Day 14: "The Name Of The Rose"

“How peaceful live would be without love, how safe, how tranquil and how very dull.”

On 1st appearance, The Name Of The Rose looks like a movie I’d usually want to take a nap through. The basis of the movie revolves around an abbey; that doesn’t sound too thrilling. But when I watched it, I was surprisingly thrilled to find a hidden gem from the 1980’s as The Name Of The Rose is a clever piece of work, that is enticing till the end credits.

This is director Jean-Jacque Annaud’s take on Umberto Eco’s novel of religious hypocrisy and malice in northern Italy, 1327. Brother William Of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his apprentice Adso (Christian Slater) arrive at a prestigious abbey where an unfortunate incident has occurred: One of their own has committed suicide, and they believe the presence of evil is at work. Brother William, who is inquisitive and studious, is asked to find the source of the tragedy. As William and Adso set about the abbey looking for clues, more bodies are discovered dead.

Brother William pieces together the clues with evidence and confronts the head Abbott (Michael Lonsdale). After finding hidden messages, written and concealed with lemon juice show mystery surrounding a book, that causes men to shed bloodshed of other men. The book pertains comedy, which is forbidden in the abbey and must be eradicated. The abbott dismisses William’s findings and a Holy Inquisition is called, led by Bernardo Gui (F. Murray Abraham), a sadistic witch hunter who has a past with Brother William. William and Adso must find out the source of the killings or Bernardo Gui will just convict an innocent scapegoat to please his sadistic ways.

The film is told with sporadic narration and in flashback by Adso’s novice and maintains an atmosphere lacking in many films of its time. Connery gives us one of his most assured performances and surely one of his favorites. The sometimes long pace with its eerie location are set perfectly. Brother William’s demeanor can be traced by took the detective Sherlock Holmes and Adso his Watson.

The religious themes are viewed with hypocrisy and holy belief is questioned throughout the film. The love of god, can it seems be at least on a similar level to other forms of joy, as when William says, “How peaceful live would be without love, how safe, how tranquil and how very dull.” Also Adso’s “sin”

Both natural and sexual to a female is given almost a go-ahead by William’s wisdom. The natural sensation of feelings seething out of Adso is an angle of warmth and comfort within the soul to overcome darkness, tragedy, and religious sorrow.

Trailer: