King Judith 2022 A Slow Sonnet From The South

Mother of Movies is unfamiliar with the stories of the Lady of the Lake that is prevalent across the American Southern states. The filmmaker for the King Judith microbudget title is a poet and the Lady of the Lake is also a poem by Walter Scott. Richard Bailey makes films that leave the smallest film footprint he can. This keeps his budget low and also shows his love of making a difference with his filmmaking.

The main thread of King Judith follows Miriam, a detective in a grey suit who talks to various people throughout the film. Rather than look at the performances and relate to them as wooden and unemotive, thinking about each character in light of this being a movie that wants to immerse you into prose, was less unenjoyable. There are various scenes depicting slow-moving dancing and sometimes singing too. Generally, I couldn’t relate to why this was happening.

In every scene, none of the people on screen talking to each other are ever shown in the same frame. It’s not a technique I particularly enjoy especially when there is no change as the film moves forward.

The Lady of the Lake Stories

At the end of the King Judith narrative, Miriam explains to two policemen the story behind the poem. She explains that most of the Lady of the Lake stories tell of a woman who loses her children or is off having affairs with men. The classic tales then go on to remedy these issues by exiling the woman or simply killing her. Miriam then explains in detail the connections to femininity and how her unsalvagable soul is not worthy of a relationship with Christ. What all “good” Christian tales often include.

The King Judith movie is slow-moving. It’s also full of vignette scenes that drop in and out of different moments within a non-linear timeline. At times I felt like I should be laying on the floor in meditation rather than trying to keep up with what was happening on screen.

“When we look at our memories, that’s nostalgia. But when our memories look at us, that’s something else. When our memories look at us, it makes us feel like a fugitive. Can’t shake that look, it haunts you.”

Quote from the movie King Judith

King Judith is rated

2 Slow dances out of 5

Where to Watch King Judith 2022

For a horror movie based on Edgar Allen Poe watch The Bloodhound or The Tell Tale Heart next.

The King Judith movie is streaming on: