Phillipe (Matthew Broderick), a pickpocket in 13th-century France, is thrown into a dungeon, but escapes and tries to elude the palace guards in the thick of a nearby forest. Rescued by Navarre (Rutger Hauer), a mysterious knight, Phillipe is eager to be on his way, but the knight refuses
to set him free, eventually filling him in on his secret. Navarre, the former chief guard for an evil bishop (John Wood), was involved in a romance with the bishop's mistress Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer). When the bishop learned of the affair, he appealed to the gods and had the lovers cursed. As a
result the two take on different forms--Navarre, a wolf by night, and Isabeau, a hawk by day--never again able to embrace each other as humans.
Majestically photographed, LADYHAWKE is a joy to look at, employing some beautiful techniques to capture the transformations. Unfortunately, the synthesized soundtrack is drastically out of place and out of character. Hauer, playing a more gentle role than usual, is excellent, but Pfeiffer, who
looks stunning, isn't given much to do. While not without faults, LADYHAWKE is much more striking than many of Donner's other films. A poetic, mythic tale of impossible love that was one of the overlooked films of 1985. leave a comment
