edward
Edward is an animated short film based on „The Bards of Wales” written by János Arany.
„The Bards of Wales” is a poem which has been written after a fallen revolution and war of independence in Hungary. The Hasburg’s and their Russian allies broke down our freedom fighting in 1849. János Arany was asked to write a poem to celebrate the visit of the Hasburg emperor’s couple to Hungary but he refused. Instead of writing a celebrating poem he wrote „The Bards of Wales” in 1857. In Hungary everybody knew very well what this poem really ment in a figurative sense. The poem de facto talked about I. Edward (1239 –1307) when he visited his new colony in Wales.
My short filmÂ’s action follows the story of poem. The poem goes through the whole film like a music in a video clip.
The story: I. Edward arrives in Wales. The Earl of Montgomery entertains the King. Edward is not enjoying the feast, because his vanity is not flattered enough. He demands that his greatness be celebrated in a toast, but none of the guests dare to answer the KingÂ’s request. So, the King demands thatc a local bard sing a song about his greatness. The first bard is an old man who starts to sing about EdwardÂ’s cruel atrocities. Edward is angered and sends the bard to the burning stake. The next bard is a young one. He continues the way of the old bard, so he is sent to the stake as well. The third bard is a strong and huge one who comes without calling. He breaks everything and scatters everyone, but the superior number of soldiers overcome him. Then Edward orders to burn every bard who doesnÂ’t want to yield. After this action Edward runs back to his home in London but he canÂ’t enjoy himself. The sense of guilt drives him mad because five hundred bards went to the flames singing but none of them yielded.