Hawk is a truly epic film, from the sweeping aerial shots of the stunning landscape, the captivating score, innovative editing and generally bold production. Narratively speaking however, the film definitely takes further viewings to fully comprehend the nature of what is going on, and even then I'm left a little confused.
Director A J Mcmahon does an excellent job of transporting us into this alternate universe from the offset, the grand swilling score and fantastical opening shot creates a world almost immediately and we know we're set for a dramatic fantasy ride.
The harsh realities of life and death are addressed immediately with the Hawk killing the mouse and consistently referred back to in the film. We then hear the advice from Grandfather Gawain to Rowan that 'The gods will be angry if you take her life' referring to the symbolic Hawk, which is only later revealed to have been the case. Lessons of morality, mortality are present throughout, making audiences question particularly by the end, how we address the balance of giving and taking life, what we take for granted and how we treat any and all elements of nature, especially with Gawain stating 'everything is alive' you begin to envision this yourself.
The use of voiceover is very effective in parts, showing that the lessons Gawain taught Rowan, he now wishes to teach and impart on others but I can only feel that that was slightly overused. As a result, the consistent voiceover distracted from the relationship between the two leads, particularly during Gawain's storytelling montage sequence, though brilliantly edited, it would have been effective to see more of this in real time so we could connect to both characters and their bond that bit more. This is so that when Gawain passes, we would genuinely feel Rowan's pain and loss, which I admittedly didn't..
Conversely, It has to be noted that one of the film's richest aspects is Stuart Hancock's glorious score complimented by the evocative choir elements. It really gives that involuntary body response, goosebumps for myself ,due to its grand and exhilarating nature, coinciding with the world Mcmahon has crafted, superbly. Additionally, many technical aspects of the film have been ingrained in my mind, a large amount due to Martin Hills expert cinematography. For instance, the Kurosawa-esque shot in the woods, gazing up at the trees where Gawain spirals into the underworld was pure genius. Additionally, the sweeping shots of the Snowdonian landscape were also stunning, really embedding us in this world and resultant underworld. Though unfortunately due to these being regularly repeated, they began to lose their wow factor and just seemed to be placed in for a quick and seamless scene transition or to convey the time shift, which may have been a slight cop out.
It's a film that makes the audience work, if not paying complete attention, you can miss essential details that will then make the narrative hard to follow. Admittedly, I felt a little lost in the story much likened to Rowan and his grip of fantasy and reality. Therefore, I needed to watch it a second time, at least, to vaguely understand what was happening and even now I'm still not completely there, but perhaps this is a good thing, leaving certain narrative elements up to interpretation.
Director A J Mcmahon does an excellent job of transporting us into this alternate universe from the offset, the grand swilling score and fantastical opening shot creates a world almost immediately and we know we're set for a dramatic fantasy ride.
The harsh realities of life and death are addressed immediately with the Hawk killing the mouse and consistently referred back to in the film. We then hear the advice from Grandfather Gawain to Rowan that 'The gods will be angry if you take her life' referring to the symbolic Hawk, which is only later revealed to have been the case. Lessons of morality, mortality are present throughout, making audiences question particularly by the end, how we address the balance of giving and taking life, what we take for granted and how we treat any and all elements of nature, especially with Gawain stating 'everything is alive' you begin to envision this yourself.
The use of voiceover is very effective in parts, showing that the lessons Gawain taught Rowan, he now wishes to teach and impart on others but I can only feel that that was slightly overused. As a result, the consistent voiceover distracted from the relationship between the two leads, particularly during Gawain's storytelling montage sequence, though brilliantly edited, it would have been effective to see more of this in real time so we could connect to both characters and their bond that bit more. This is so that when Gawain passes, we would genuinely feel Rowan's pain and loss, which I admittedly didn't..
Conversely, It has to be noted that one of the film's richest aspects is Stuart Hancock's glorious score complimented by the evocative choir elements. It really gives that involuntary body response, goosebumps for myself ,due to its grand and exhilarating nature, coinciding with the world Mcmahon has crafted, superbly. Additionally, many technical aspects of the film have been ingrained in my mind, a large amount due to Martin Hills expert cinematography. For instance, the Kurosawa-esque shot in the woods, gazing up at the trees where Gawain spirals into the underworld was pure genius. Additionally, the sweeping shots of the Snowdonian landscape were also stunning, really embedding us in this world and resultant underworld. Though unfortunately due to these being regularly repeated, they began to lose their wow factor and just seemed to be placed in for a quick and seamless scene transition or to convey the time shift, which may have been a slight cop out.
It's a film that makes the audience work, if not paying complete attention, you can miss essential details that will then make the narrative hard to follow. Admittedly, I felt a little lost in the story much likened to Rowan and his grip of fantasy and reality. Therefore, I needed to watch it a second time, at least, to vaguely understand what was happening and even now I'm still not completely there, but perhaps this is a good thing, leaving certain narrative elements up to interpretation.