Tea at Trianon: Day of the Siege: September 11, 1683 (2012)

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Day of the Siege: September 11, 1683 (2012)

Polish poster

An Italian-Polish production, Day of the Siege: September 11, 1683 dramatizes the months leading up to the fateful Battle of Vienna, when the Ottoman Turks were defeated by the leadership and courage of the Polish King, Jan Sobieski. While much of the story is told from the point of view of the Ottoman vizier Kara Mustafa, commander of the Turkish forces, the main character is indubitably Blessed Marco d'Aviano, portrayed with fire and gentleness by F. Murray Abraham. Father Marco, whom most people may not have heard of, was truly the spiritual adviser of Emperor Leopold I, as shown in the film. The Capuchin friar did in actuality play a part in the defense of Vienna by rallying the Christian forces and encouraging them to unite against the Ottomans. The Turks, who threatened to conquer Rome and all of Europe if once the Empire fell into their hands, vastly outnumbered the armies of the Holy League. Europe would have fallen had it not been for the unflinching faith and tactical skill of Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland, whose hussars carried the image of the Black Madonna into battle.

The King is magnificently played by Polish actor Jerzy Skolimowski who fills the screen and dominates every scene that he is in, leaving no doubt about the greatness of the character who is being brought to life. I wish he could have been given more screen time. I also wanted to see more of Emperor Leopold and his family, especially his sister Eleanor of Austria, whose husband Charles of Lorraine figures prominently in the battle. I did not care for the subplot about the renegade Turk who betrays his Christian wife; it seemed to take away from the genuine historical characters. That and other strange twists in the plot keep it from being the great epic film it might have been in better directorial hands. But seeing the Polish cavalry charge down the mountain definitely makes Day of the Siege worth a watch.

F. Murray Abraham as Blessed Marco d'Aviano

Watch entire film, HERE. Share

2 comments:

Gette said...: I heard about this movie and I do look forward to seeing it. Thanks for the review. It would be a good one to watch on the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Sept 12 (in honor of Her victory in the Siege of Vienna)!; September 22, 2014 at 9:56:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, that's exactly when I watched it!; September 22, 2014 at 4:42:00 PM EDT