Once upon a time, there was a story. It is A Knight’s Tale. It always has been a girl’s dream to have a perfect man. A man who always hears what girl said, who is a gentleman. This movie translates those qualities in William Thatcher, a man with a dream of becoming a knight.
During the medieval years, the word “knight” is given to person who fights in some tournament called jousting. It is a tournament embraced by peasant and noble, but you can play if only you’re a noble birth. But not for William, forced by the need of food that he—and his two friends—didn’t get these last three days, and his liege was dead before even finish his final round of a joust tournament. It’s just one last step to winning the tournament. If his master didn’t finish that tournament, so they will be fasting for the next few days.
Maslow was right about this one, fulfilled of one need leads to another needs. When they—Will and his friend, Wat and Roland—succeed their act of posed as their master temporary, Will thinks another head. He wanted to continue their act as a knight for much longer, although their head will be the price if their cover blown. Just after the fear of starvation is gone, they—at least Will—need to be recognized and honored. Then he changed his name, he becomes Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein and compete at the next tournament. Start from this point, their story to become a real knight begins.
The reasons I love this movie so much—beside of the accent and the cast—is because this movie gives me so much things at once. Anything you look for from a movie, you got it. You want a heroic story? Romantic? Poetic? A little action maybe? Or a spice of humor? You will find those here, but yet packed in a light and easy to understand plot. But what I ensure to you is this story will delivered certain message about the importance of dreaming, believing, and being persistent.
First, I’ll highlight on the poetic part, because this is one of the main reasons I remember this movie. I love when William—that time posed as Sir Ulrich—made a love—also apologize—letter to Jocelyn, the girl he falls in love with. It composed by the best words of true love that he and his friends experienced. I will write it down for you.
William opened with,
“It is strange to think. I have not seen you in a month. I have seen the new moon, but not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises, but nothing of your beautiful face."
Then Roland filled in with his feeling to a girl once he loved, who also broke his heart.
“The pieces of my broken heart are so small can be pass through the eye of a needle."
Then, Wat gives his lines that was made to the girl he missed
"I miss you like the sun misses the flower. Like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter. Instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world your absence has banished me to."
And to finish the letter, Kate said that it should end with hope. She said,
“Hope guides me. It is what gets me through the day and especially the night. The hope that after you leave my sight, it will not be the last time I look upon you."
That is a beautiful love letter, for sure. I believe that is what every women dream to be sent to them by their men, who already way passed that age of romanticism.
Now I move to the inspirational part. Part that I said before as “certain message about the importance of dreaming, believing, and being persistent”. Since he was native, he had this one dream only, it is to be a knight. A dream that immediately agreed by his Father faithfully, whether He knew that such dream is impossible to become reality. His father believe—like I do too, that when someone is dreaming, It’s not about what’s possible, it’s about being in the right path. Don’t be worry to the rest of it, because the path itself will show you the direction (where) and way (how) to accomplish yours.
Sometimes believe is not enough just based from what we believe. Faith of the love ones—like family, friend or spouse—is encourage it. There is always the word ‘fear’ wondering around, to scare the dreamer. Because dreaming is also means preparing adventure plan to the unknown world. As a matter of fact, in some case, dream that we’ve been designed, crush because of those fears. Thatcher Sr.—William’s Father—reminds me, as he said to William, “Don't be foolish, William. You just follow your feet...” That was absolutely right. It’s kind of made me remember one thing I always believe. That beneath a brain-full and cultured a human is, we’re always having the ‘lizard brain’ inside of us. It’s the most primitive part of a human that remains during this very long time of evolution. Freud called it as id. It works like animal instinct. It never gone wrong, especially when involves personal wealth. When we’re cornered, then ‘lizard brain’ will take over ourselves and save us. Just like the time when we watch a scary scene on a movie. Both our hands will react. Between one and another, the reaction maybe different, it adjusts to our needs. For some people, both of their hands will be covering the ears, to protect us from the hated sound that we’ll be hearing. For some other, hands maybe has another thought to cover our mouth, because some people may have to be more a screaming type when they’ve got scared. That’s what I mean with ‘never gone wrong’ because it responds they way you needed most. That’s why we have to believe to our dream. Because the more we dig those fears the more we realize that there aren’t to be afraid of.
The last, and the most tricky yet cliché thing is being persistent. Persistence means proofed along the time. Sometime, the way is not always in a straight shape, nor we’ll talk about it everyday—once my Guru said, it’s boring. But one we must promise ourselves, that we have this special place for our dream in our hearts, and will never stop to find the way to make it happens.
When you done watching this movie, you will know what’s needed to be a knight. It’s neither person who born in the purple, nor who dressed likes one. Just like William once said about how the first knights have their pride, “They took it, from the tip of their swords”. Some of you will have different experience to picture out a figure of a knight. As for me, a knight is a person who thinks abroad, and acts wisely. Well, at the end, that’s what lizard brain is for, chooses what you needed most.
If he believes enough, a man can do anything (Thatcher Sr. from A Knight’s Tale)