I confess I could only stomach about 45 minutes of this swill. The makers of this movie started off with a fairly good idea, the historical account of arguably one of the three most important battles of in the development of Western Europe, along with The Battle of Tours on 10 October 732, and Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge on 28 October 312.
However, the film's producers allowed their idiotic biases & prejudices to get in the way of historical fact. The Italians making this movie, suffer from a bad case of Freudian transference. They insisted upon portraying the Austrian and Germans as cowardly, backstabbing and incompetent, you know, as if they were Borgias and Medicis. Further, as you will shortly see, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, had extensive experience at building alliances, particularly with Poland. He didn't need a Venetian monk to hold his hand.
Like any good Austrian, I am grateful for the brave assistance of the Poles, and hold in high regard the longstanding friendship between Poland and Austria. However, our Polish friends need to remember that the same Leopold I cemented this friendship with the Austrian intervention, on behalf of Poland, against the Swedish invasion in the Second Northern War of 1657. 12,000 Austrian soldiers (mind - not Italian, but Austrian) helped drive off the Swedes in that war.
In 1657, Brother Marco, the protagonist of this sad movie, was probably still popping pimples. Fifteen years later, in 1683, Leopold I was a savvy, experienced strategist who held off the French, and soundly thrashed the Ottomans. Yet he is portrayed as a vacillating dilettante. It is enough to make you reach for a barf bag.
However, the film's producers allowed their idiotic biases & prejudices to get in the way of historical fact. The Italians making this movie, suffer from a bad case of Freudian transference. They insisted upon portraying the Austrian and Germans as cowardly, backstabbing and incompetent, you know, as if they were Borgias and Medicis. Further, as you will shortly see, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, had extensive experience at building alliances, particularly with Poland. He didn't need a Venetian monk to hold his hand.
Like any good Austrian, I am grateful for the brave assistance of the Poles, and hold in high regard the longstanding friendship between Poland and Austria. However, our Polish friends need to remember that the same Leopold I cemented this friendship with the Austrian intervention, on behalf of Poland, against the Swedish invasion in the Second Northern War of 1657. 12,000 Austrian soldiers (mind - not Italian, but Austrian) helped drive off the Swedes in that war.
In 1657, Brother Marco, the protagonist of this sad movie, was probably still popping pimples. Fifteen years later, in 1683, Leopold I was a savvy, experienced strategist who held off the French, and soundly thrashed the Ottomans. Yet he is portrayed as a vacillating dilettante. It is enough to make you reach for a barf bag.