MED Movies – The Knight Before Christmas (KBC)

Cast:  Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Whitehouse, Ella Kenion

Director: Monika Mitchell

Title: KBC is a blatant pun used intentionally by the screenwriter to grab the attention of the audience. It is, in fact, an obvious word play that means the night instead of the knight. Both words fit in the film as all of the actions turnaround 7 nights before Christmas and at the same time the protagonist is a knight.

Genre: a Netflix Rom-Com movie. The film is a holiday fairy tale romantic comedy story in which many magical and extraordinary elements are implemented.

Setting: in this film, the audience is presented to two different settings. One is in England, Norwich in the 14^th century (1334). The other one is in Bracebridge, Ohio in 2019.

Synopsis: the movie stars Vanessa Hudgens as a science teacher named Brooke, who falls for Sir Cole, Josh Whitehouse, a medieval knight magically transported from 1334 to 2019 to fulfill a 7-day quest in hopes of becoming a real knight.

Plot: KBC opens up with a scene of an annual competition among knights which takes us to the medieval age. For a while, we can believe that we are watching Game of Thrones but quickly we realize that it is just disenchantment when Cole is whisked through time to Ohio by a sorceress’s spell of an old Crone. Our handsome knight has been told that he must fulfill a quest before midnight on Christmas Eve. The old witch says: “if you don’t succeed to achieve your dream by midnight of 25 December, you will never be a knight.” Unfortunately, Cole doesn’t know what that quest is. In Bracebridge, he encounters a gentle high school science teacher Brooke Winter who is disillusioned by love after a painful breakup. Thinking he suffers from amnesia and knowing he has nowhere to go; she takes him home with her hoping he would regain his lost memory. Due to culture shock, Cole discovers that there are many differences between his world and the modern one such as language, clothes and many technological devices. Throughout time, he realizes that even though a lot of social principles have changed, yet many have remained the same like love, kindness and compassion. To know whether our sweet charming knight has fulfilled his quest or not, watching the film is quite recommended.

The moral of the film: we can notice at first glance that principles of chivalry have vanished and no longer existing in modern era whereas this movie proves that Man cannot embrace his essence unless he puts knights’ codes into practice.

Thanks to this movie, we realize that Christmas is not only about decoration and toys but it is also about giving back, altruism and volunteering. The best scene that illustrates that is when little Clair has given her own gloves to her friend Lily whose father is unable to buy her a new one. Another scene when Cole risks his life to save that of the little girl. At the end, knights’ codes correlate with nowadays principles. Modern man should defend the weak, keep faith, be virtuous and be patient.

That is to say, those principles are universal as they can be used anywhere and anytime.