An Enjoyable Film, But Winner of Five Oscars... Really?

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2010)

William Wallace loses his father at a young age. After going away for a while, he returns (now as Mel Gibson) to raise a family. That dream quickly comes to an end when his wife is assaulted and killed by English soldiers. He becomes a patriot in a romantic rage, not resting until England gets its boots off the throat of Scotland.
Historian Sharon Krossa notes that Scotsmen did not wear kilts at this time, saying that this is akin to "a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits" and further that "The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate -- in short, just about nothing is accurate"... which more or less sums up my primary complaint about this film.
I enjoyed it as a story about an oppressed people rising up against their masters, even if it didn't really have any basis in reality. I was a bit confused about Gibson as Wallace, with hair styled by the same person who helps Dog the Bounty Hunter. And I'm not sure how this received "Best Picture" or "Best Director". I do not think it's a bad film or bad direction, but I have to believe the other films this year must have been considered pretty bad for Mel Gibson to enter the list of legends and giants. I would say, for example, that "Mr. Holland's Opus" is a better film.
I had the film presented to me as "chick flick", and I can see that. Despite the violence and political message (about freedom and independence and nationalism), the underlying theme is that Wallace loved his wife and fights in her honor... though he doesn't really take issue with hooking up with his enemy's wife. I guess two wrongs make a right?
I see this film as a bridge between "Spartacus" and "300", as a story of a small number of people fighting against a much larger enemy. Like Spartacus, Wallace is to some extent a slave. Like the Spartans, the Scots have everything against them when fighting the English. Despite the parallels, the sad fact is that "Spartacus" is the best film, and "300" the least... seems that uprising films are becoming less grand.