Film Review - 'One of the Seven' (Tolkien fan-made film)

Film title - ‘One of the Seven’

Over the past couple of months, I’ve discovered some independently-made Tolkien films and, credit where it’s due, I have Amazon’s travesty to thank for that as these films were mentioned in the comments section of some of the Tolkien YouTubers I follow who’d reviewed that series.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be reviewing the films, which are fairly short, ranging from about 15 to 40 minutes, with the longest being a little over 1 hour.

‘One of the Seven’, made by Rhymin Films, located in Southern Finland, is ‘an unofficial fan fiction story video made by 32 Tolkien fans. The project is entirely non-profit and non-commercial.’

Having no idea what to expect and considering this was made purely for fun, I confess to going in with low expectations.

By the end of the film, which is just under 25 minutes, I was left astounded.

Set in Mirkwood Forest, the story is about a pair of Dwarves searching for one of the missing Dwarven Rings, and they cross paths with the Elves of Mirkwood.

Elves in Mirkwood Forest

Although not named, the Elven King is, without a doubt, Thranduil.

That Tolkien never elaborated on Thranduil’s wife and her fate, what we’re shown here of the Elven Queen is convincing and could easily slot in with the existing lore.

Instead of dialogue, the filmmaker opted for a voiceover for the entire film.

The script has various Tolkien references, seamlessly woven into the narration, and recognising each one made me smile.

I do have a quibble about the lembas bread, and there’s one moment I found a little confusing; despite that, I enjoyed the story.

There’s even an ‘after credits’ scene with an amusing little twist.

In keeping with the feel of Peter Jackson’s films, the end credits feature illustrations of the actors, done by various international artists.

The director, Sampsa Kares, is also the cinematographer, and the voiceover narrator is ‘The Krytan Herald’ (the name of her YouTube channel), based in the UK.

The cast is made up, not of actors, but of cosplayers who either used their existing ‘Lord of the Rings’ costumes, or made new ones for this film, and they all did a great job; their costumes and makeup are, across the board, amazing, testament to their dedication. And I have to stress, they made their costumes.

My favourite character is the Elven King, played by Topias Kanto, who captured the ethereal elven quality and slight haughtiness of the King of Mirkwood.

The Elven King played by Topias Kanto

The forest setting, somewhere in Finland, is gorgeous.

Best of all, the music, composed by Ilari Hylkilä, was reminiscent of Howard Shore’s score for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films.

Hylkilä also wrote the music and lyrics for the end credit song, ‘True Love’.

Sung by a UK-based singer, Sharm, the song is hauntingly beautiful.

Not one person involved in this project was paid, which makes ‘One of the Seven’ a perfect example of what can be achieved despite a minimal budget when those involved treat the original source material with respect.

The film is available on YouTube, and I encourage any who enjoy Tolkien’s stories to watch it.