Deviating from subjects more directly related to “The Family Behind the Girl Scouts” to plug the newly released film “The Uprising,” starring Andrew Garfield. It did not have a great U.S. opening week and has been plagued by some poor marketing decisions that have clunkily tried to retrofit it as a Robin Hood origin story, so it will probably not be available in U.S. theaters for very long.
History buffs should seek it out, however. I was eager to see the film as it covers one of the least-known, but most significant events in medieval British history – the Peasants Revolt of 1381, during the early reign of then-teenaged king Richard II. This remarkable uprising unified common people from throughout England. Although the rebels did not initially achieve their major goals before the crown brutally regained the upper hand, their efforts eventually led to long-term reforms that ended serfdom, altering the country’s political, economic, and social landscape.
While the main character played by Garfield is a fictional stand-in for all the common rebels, and there are moments when the film does pander to Robin Hood-style myths, the film is remarkably accurate in portraying the basic events of the Peasants Revolt as well as the lived experience of common people during the time. This is no Camelot-style representation of the feudal world. Dirt is practically a supporting character.
I would highly recommend this film for any class that covers medieval history. It would also make an excellent background piece for those studying Shakespeare’s “Richard II.”
The basic facts of the Peasants Revolt are so incredible that it is unfortunate the filmmakers didn’t trust the real story enough to avoid mucking it up with tacked-on Robin Hood allusions. Ignore that and focus on the rest of the story.
Sometimes history is so remarkable you just can’t make this stuff up!
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