Film Review - 'Horn of Gondor' (Tolkien Fan-Made Film)

‘Horn of Gondor’

Continuing with my reviews of independently made films set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

‘Horn of Gondor’ is set in the Second Age with a runtime of about 15 minutes.

‘After the invasion of the fierce hordes of the Balchoth [a group of Easterlings], Gondor is on the brink of destruction. The Ruling Steward, Cirion, places his hope to the North, to the half-forgotten nation of the Horselords. Will the knight Borondir succeed and convey Cirion’s message?’

The film was made in the Czech Republic, but the narration and dialogue are in English.

It’s succinctly told with a handful of characters.

The film opens with a librarian of Gondor poring over a hefty book telling of the time when Eorl the Young and his Éothéod rode to the aid of Gondor.

We then go back about 500 years as the then-Steward of Gondor, Cirion, makes the decision to send 6 messengers north to ask for aid.

One of the messengers, Borondir, the protagonist in this story was one of the named messengers in Tolkien’s lore.

We’re shown the dangers the messengers face as they ride north, unsure of whether they’ll even find the Horse-lords.

Borondir on his journey north

Despite the short runtime of the film, there’s a fight scene, which doesn’t feel like it’s been shoehorned in for the heck of it.

I’m no expert when it comes to swords, but I thought it was done well with some nifty swordplay.

I liked the character of Borondir, played by Dalibor Belfín, who’s done a good job portraying Borondir’s heroism in an understated way.

Borondir played by Dalibor Belfín

The setting and the characters – from the men of Gondor to the riders, to the Balchoth – look and feel like they belong in Tolkien’s world.

As with ‘One of the Seven’, the film I reviewed last week, these filmmakers had no commercial backing either, yet I found it a very well-made film.

And it’s another example of how much film studios lose with their outright aversion to taking a chance.

The film is also free to watch on YouTube; if you do watch it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.