Most romantic movie ever or just most gory?

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2000)

One of the most interesting things about this film is how differently people react to it. When I offered it as one of the most romantic films I had ever seen, several people scoffed, commenting on how much death and gore there was and how could that possibly be viewed as being romantic. True, the battles are horrific, hundreds, thousands, of men butchering each other in close quarter hand to hand combat. There is decapitation, dismemberment, and rivers of blood and death. Yet it is also the story of the power of commitment. In the story (how true this is I can not say, but the theme works anyway) William Wallace gave up his life, gave himself entirely to free his country. Nothing else mattered. There is no cautions planning, no careful conservation of resource.
Every fiber of Wallace's being is spent in every second on defeating his enemy, now, not tomorrow, but now, right now. He lives entirely in the moment, being his commitment to free his country. His success is a direct consequence of that total commitment. And the source of that commitment was the love he had for his wife, his childhood sweetheart. What could be more romantic than a love that changes the world? If the tears aren't flowing in the final scene, about both an agonizing death, and the power of love to overcome even that horror, then your heart is made of stone. This film is among the best I have ever seen.
Great sound track too (interestingly enough I believe the new release Cast Away uses at least one of the same tracks).