Synopsis
A feature film based on the life of the OWAIN GLYN-DWR; a Renaissance Warrior Prince of the 15th Century; a complex man whose life was torn apart by having to choose between a country – Wales and the people he loved most in the world – his family.
Owain Glyndwr was centuries ahead of his time in intellect, military stratagems
and vision, and centuries behind in his belief in pagan prophesies; a man who
fought successfully for 12 years against the might of England; a country which
possessed more land, more people and more money.
Owain was a reluctant hero, being forced into fighting through a combination of events: the death of a son, raids on his lands and the anger of the Welsh people because of the increasingly draconian laws which King Henry IV introduced against the Welsh. However, these laws, far from subjugating the Welsh, gave all the conditions ripe for rebellion under a charismatic leader. After Owain led a successful attack against LORD GREY, the man responsible for the raid on Owain’s lands which resulted in his son’s death; poets and peasants, students and noblemen flocked to fight under Owain’s red dragon banner.
Owain was an experienced warrior, as was his identical brother TUDOR, so together
they trained their men in unusual military stratagems which made the English
believe that Owain possessed supernatural powers as he gained more and more
land and castles off the English. This view was reinforced when they saw two
‘Owains’ fighting in battle: Owain had discovered a powerful psychological
weapon to undermine the enemy - Tudor’s likeness to himself. They both
rode into battles dressed in the exact armour and red surcoat, but at different
times and positions.
However, Owain paid a heavy price for his success on the battlefield. Once his two sons GRIFFITH and MEREDITH joined their father in the fight, MARGED, his wife, began to hate the war; hated the thought that her husband and sons could be killed. She became a wall of silence and Owain was torn by his love of Marged and his now desperate desire to unify Wales and bring it freedom. However, after Owain was wounded in battle, Marged learned to see the immense courage her husband possessed and the great importance of his fight. When Owain was nearly broken by the death of his brother and the capture of their son, Marged gave him the courage to continue fighting. But this courage also became their tragedy: neither of them could escape a destiny that divided them.