Sweden in the 1100s is the backdrop for the troubled love story between nobleman boy-turned monk-turned-knight templar Arn and neighboring girl Cecilia- before he is sent off to Jerusalem in the crusades and she into a convent- plus the rivaling royal clan struggles for power in the nation. I haven't read the bestselling books which this is based on, and knowing this is a part-saga and soon TV-series to be, I can somewhat overlook the gaps in storytelling.

What I do enjoy is a sound, intriguing (especially the scheming between the church and royal clans) and reliable medieval tale - with heavy doses of romance, monastery/convent dramatics and a little touch of "Kingdom of heaven"-battling in the end - that unfortunately never quite peaks. As a cinephile Swede, I know the country's market a bit, and notice that the filmmakers are SO focused on keeping a safe, steady course not to fail with such a big production ship like this, that they end up with no real climactic cinematic highlights to speak of. Rougher camera-work and sets might've heightened things a bit?

For that reason it's very evenly paced, never boring and quite nicely produced. But with a major flaw: Arn remains very stiff and sketchy as an adult character. We never personally get to know him (he has SO few lines!) as to really understand why Cecilia loves him.

All in all, 6 out of 10 from Ozjeppe

Impressive film. i expected purely a crusades film. but it is much more. essentially it is about Arn and his life from childhood to adult. eventually finding his true love but this love is forbidden since he has "sinned with the flesh" as those crazy Christians put it. so he is sent away to the crusades where he encounters Saladin, the oppositions leader. and they come to respect one another as men of honor and wisdom. since this film involved severing of limbs and cutting throats i am puzzled why this film got a pg rating when films like die hard get a 18 rating. the answer is purely because the financial backers of the film had pull with the censorship board. after all this is the most expensive film production in Scandinavian history. cant wait to see the sequel.

It's 1187 in the Holy Lands. Arn Magnusson is known as the honorable Al Ghouti to the Muslims. He rescues Saladin from bandits on his way to Egypt. Saladin is in debt to him. In flashbacks, Arn is the son of Magnus Folkesson (Michael Nyqvist) and defeats his foe in a duel. He falls for Cecilia. Her sister tries to bed him. It turns into a scandal and he's excommunicated. A pregnant Cecilia is forced into a nunnery and Arn is sent on the Crusade.

The story flow is disrupted with the constant back and forth. It's not that necessary to keep going back to Cecilia. There is also a disjointed feel. Joakim Nätterqvist is a rather bland leading man. He's a nice Viking-like look but lacks a bigger charisma. This is probably something for the fans of the books but it doesn't hold up as a cinematic movie.