Is it possible to make ambitious fantasy in France? Has the cultural industry, which is still reluctant to leave space for genre propositions, finally found its standard-bearer? Alexandre Astier’s new film carries on its shoulders the weight of its popularity as much as the future of a genre which is just waiting to be democratized in our green lands. Whether he likes it or not, Kaamelott: Second Part is not just a film, it is a baptism of fire for fantasy made in France.
“So sweet foufous!”
Six months after the confrontation between Arthur and Lancelot, which reduced Kaamelott to ashes, the Pendragon son is taking it easy with his in-laws. Now armed with a sword that spits lightning, the King of Brittany is still reluctant to fulfill his destiny.
He is not resolved to kill his former ally, regardless of the fact that he reigned terror over the kingdom of Logres for a decade. It also doesn’t matter that the gods bring down their wrath on his home, Arthur Pendragon is not decided to intervene… Untilan event precipitates his return to the head of the new Round Table.
“We’re tired of this going on”
After the resistance of the people of Brittany as well as that of Arthur to return to the throne, Alexandre Astier wants to immortalize the adventure with two capital A. For the second film in his franchise, the director confirms the mutation of his universe and once again abandons the comic scope of his story to evoke the figure of the hero, destiny and… magic.
If fantastic elements have always been present in Kaamelottthey have never taken up so much space. It is no longer just a question of an appearance here and there of the Lady of the Lake, the fantastic elements are otherwise colossal. The characters are not locked within the confines of a castle, which is in ruins anyway, they take to the road to accomplish tasks that are truly worth defiling parchment.
In KV2, it is finally a question of showing what the series most often evoked off-camera. The clashes are no longer recounted to Father Blaise but come to life in real and varied settings. A troop in search of a legendary creature, another who crosses the Mediterranean Sea or even some who take initiatives and invent themselves prophetic heroes, Kaamelott — Second Part see bigger.
Astier use fantasy mechanics or stories of chivalry to advance one’s own quest: that of a conclusion for the adventures of his Arthur Pendragon. And if we don’t get bored for a single second, this ambition is also the biggest obstacle to the film’s total success.
In both substance and form, Kaamelott can’t seem to move away from its fragmented approach. The fault of too large a gallery of characters? Between the old ones, the new ones, and the absence of certain emblematic figures, it’s jostling and no one really manages to stand out.
The film often does not know where to turn, multiplying the ultimately all secondary quests in the eyes of the spectators. Some would have deserved better while others are quite anecdotal. Kaamelott — Second Part is finally less a film than a serieswith its filler episodes and cliffhanger to hook fans until the next season.
In form too, this fragmentation of history has consequences. If we can only welcome an ambition more worthy of cinemas, Kaamelott remains prisoner of its original format. The film is talkative, we’re not going to complain about it, but KV2 far too often consists of boring counter fields (sorry).
Astier still has some great ideas here and there, when it comes to immortalizing a flock of birds above the fortress or a discussion between a human and a colossus of mist. A visual ambition which On the other hand, it does not always have time to deploy. We must already move on to the next scene, jumping from the rooster to the donkey. In Iceland, with adventurers on the trail of an imaginary animal, we find ourselves wanting more… and especially for longer.
Even when the most obvious turn toward fantasy — halfway between Dungeons and Dragons et World of Warcraft — takes place, we must expedite the affair to return to the fundamentals… the scathing replies of Lady Séli, the bloodthirsty attacks of Léodagan or the lethargy (a bit boring) of King Arthur. The film would undoubtedly have benefited from focus on the new knightsthe new generation, before bringing back the old ones in the second part.
A nice skewer…
And Kaamelott fails to hatch a truly epic story, the saga does not forget its roots and takes care of its musicality as rarely before. The previous film had a tendency to pull on the humor cord, rehashing its slapstick references. Alexandre Astier finds his taste for the verb with this sequel. These are these sharp dialogues who made Kaamelott a real success, with fans quoting the cult lines every chance they get.
This sequel should not disappoint them since the screenwriter and dialogue writer has more than ever an impeccable comic tempooscillating between pure comedy moments and gratin interactions. We take great pleasure in finding all these beautiful people under the direction of Astier who, as he says so well, offers his actors tailor-made scores. We still take great pleasure in following the meetings of Arthur Pendragon’s court… and that’s not bad. Even the new guys are memorable, from Moguiz to James Astier or even a Thomas VDB so good at it that we wonder why he hadn’t been invited before.
“Those who don’t understand anything, it’s clear”
After almost 2h20, when taking stock, we come to the conclusion of Kaamelott will undoubtedly not be the saga which will introduce certain spectators to fantasy. Above all — and he understood this well —Astier is aimed at its die-hard followersthose who are able to go see his film 204 times in the cinema (or even three is already quite a lot). He recently said to Samuel Etienne: “If you don’t like Kaamelott, it’s really me who you don’t like.” We cannot take away from him the fact that he takes care of every detail of his project. He keeps control. “So those who don’t understand anything… it’s clear”. We are still hesitant to choose our side.
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