The Best Film ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2001)

I think I was about four years old the first time I climbed the tediously tiring thousand steps to the top of Wallace's monument outside Stirling, 7 miles from my Papa's house in Dunipace, Stirlingshire. So of course, I have always heard the stories of William Wallace, heroic patriot of Scotland, but never before had Wallace's story seemed so real, so tragic, so compelling and noble, as the first time I saw it realized in glorious color as it was in Braveheart. Though since I first saw the film in May 1995, I have heard some people criticize the historical inaccuracies of Braveheart, I can say for my part that this film brings to life the essence of Scottish spirit and Scottish pride as many Scots understand it, and that is ever so much more important than the force of any nit-picking negative criticism launched towards Braveheart. The power of what Braveheart conveys on an emotional level is reason enough for all Scots to value the film, but it also appeals to what is universal in all people and what all of us value, yearn for, and fight for: Braveheart appeals to our sense of justice and forces us to ask ourselves the question, "What price is any one man--am I--willing to pay for freedom?" It shows us the unconquerable spirit of one man and one nation, and kindles in us all a new sense of our own fortitude, strength, and valour. I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed by this film, in my opinion, perhaps the best, or at least the most enjoyable, film ever made.