Thanks to LRC’s own J.K. Baltzersen for bringing my attention to the unique, moving, and thoroughly enjoyable film, the War of the Vendée, made by a family-run film company using exclusively actors under the age of 21 in all roles. The incredible score was written by renowned Hollywood composer and conductor Kevin Kaska (works include a 70 minute concert choral symphony based on the John Debney Academy Award-nominated score for The Passion of the Christ).
Most of us know the story: The brave souls of the Vendée fought against the bloodthirsty and genocidal French Revolutionaries in a noble but ultimately losing battle against an earlier incarnation of the Trotskyites/Marxists/neo-cons. For an account of the savages, please see great friend of Lew and LRC, the late and great Eric von Kuehnelt-Leddihn’s article on Sade, Robespierre, & the French Revolution.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Because the actors are all young people, it can be confusing at first and it may seem a bit like some kind of youth theatre. But if you happen to have little ones in your home, you will be surprised, as I was, at how so complex a story can capture their attention so completely. This is a film that does not shy away from the religious nature of that struggle for freedom and liberty, I should clearly state. Lovely entertainment.
7:53 pm on March 25, 2012
