Nostradamus

As the millennium approaches, interest in the writings of the 16th century visionary Nostradamus has revived. Played with effective restraint, Karyo's Nostradamus is a man tormented by dreams and drug-fuelled visions, frustrated by the ignorance of his fellow medical practitioners, and persecuted by religious zealots. Although the film hedges its bets regarding the veracity of Nostradamus's predictions, there is much to admire here. Director Christian successfully evokes the historical period, and Karyo conveys the intellectual turmoil of a religious man driven by a hunger for truth. The only off-key note is sounded by Hauer's eccentric turn as a mystic monk.