Irrespective of age, nation, or events, historical epics are always a delight to watch, especially if they are as good-looking as Nick Hamm’s William Tell—which, set in medieval Switzerland, chronicles the violent uprising of the Swiss rebellion against Austrian Habsburg rule under the leadership of the legendary figure, William Tell. Needless to say, there are some obvious historical inaccuracies as the makers took creative liberties to appease modern audiences. Apart from that trope-y characterization and uninspired narrative treatment, it might irk history nerds out there. Still, there is an undeniable entertainment factor that ensures that viewers get their two hours’ worth of engagement from the movie.
Spoilers Ahead
What Was Baumgarten’s Role In the Swiss Uprising?
The Habsburg dynasty of Austria (Swiss in origin) began ruling the Central and Northern part of Switzerland during the 11th century, and by the time Albert I ascended the throne in the last phase of the 13th century, the agrarian cantons of the country began suffering under the oppression of the royal family. At present, the Swiss warlords and barons lack the military or economic prowess to put up a resistance against the invaders, and with King Albert’s support, the dreaded Viceroy Gessler has built up quite a notorious reputation. Swiss nobles like Baron Attinghausen wants his nephew Rudenz, to unite their people to form an alliance of cantons against the foreign oppressors. However, Rudenz is in love with Bertha, and much to her dismay, Rudenz has pledged his allegiance to the Habsburgs in the hopes of winning her hand. Bertha’s mother belongs to Swiss nobility, and she wants her lover to fight for his land, his people. Albert has planned to marry Bertha off to Gessler against her wishes.
The movie begins with Wolfshot, a tax collector working under Gessler, visiting a farming community in Unterwalden. Drunk with the power and control he derives from the Habsburgs, Wolfshot rapes and murders the wife of a local farmer, Baumgarten, and in retaliation, the farmer viciously murders him to exact his bloody vengeance. This incident is actually historically accurate and not a plot device invented to set things in motion. Baumgarten flees for his dear life and comes across William Tell, an ace crossbow hunter and a former crusader, who agrees to aid him in his escape, at the risk of drawing the ire of Gessler’s army, who have already started pillaging villages in their effort to hunt down the fugitive.
The news of Baumgarten’s action reaches King Albert, who becomes concerned with the incident acting as a spark to ignite a possible Swiss rebellion against their dynasty. The story of a farmer’s courage against tyrannical governance was already spreading fast across the valleys of the Swiss cantons, and taking on a full-scale uprising in rough Swiss terrain was never a feasible option for the rulers. Albert sends Gessler to address the situation before things get out of hand.
Why Didn’t William Want To Go To War Against the Habsburgs?
William takes Baumgarten to Schwyz, at the home of his trusted associate Werner Stauffacher and his wife Gertrude, to lay low for a while. Following Baumgarten’s trail, Gessler arrives there as well, and even though the viceroy fails to identify his target, he keeps a close eye on William as a possible suspect who’s colluding with Baumgarten.
Gertrude and Stauffacher want William to lead a rebellion against the Habsburgs, but having experienced the horror of war, William is aware of the futility of it—how it always results in the bloodshed of innocents. During the crusade, a young William had tried to save lives and protected Suna—a woman who belonged to the faith his comrades fought against. William took up arms against his own comrades to protect Suna. In guilt, he left his past life behind to settle for a quiet life by marrying Suna and raising their son, Walter. It is therefore understandable why William detests war and is willing to go to any extent to avoid it, despite being aware of the miserable plight of the Swiss people. Still, he takes Stauffacher and Baumgarten to the Austrian-occupied Altdorf to seek assistance from Priest Furst, who is already using his order to incite people against the Habsburgs in secrecy.
How Did William Become the Face of Rebellion?
William’s family—his wife and son—arrives at Altendorf, and Gessler decides to play a cruel game to deliver a crushing blow to the growing insurgent forces. Gessler arranges a post to be latched with Habsburg helm in the middle of the town square, where citizens need to pay respect by bending the knee. As William refuses to bow down and take part in this mockery, he is forced to shoot down an apple placed on his son Walter’s head, in exchange for his life. Baumgarten, who acted as an inspiring force for the rebels, surrenders himself to spare his savior from such a sordid fate. But Gessler executes him in public and carries on with his charade. This incident at once strengthens William’s resolve, and he prepares to do whatever is necessary to rise up against the Habsburg tyranny.
William successfully shoots the apple with unreal precision and confesses to planning to kill Gessler had things gone otherwise—which provides the viceroy with an excuse to imprison him. However, William knows he has already done what he needed to, as the townsfolk begin raging against the Habsburg forces. It should be mentioned, Bertha and Rudenz witnessed Gessler’s dastardly actions. Rudenz finally comes to his senses and renounces his loyalty to the Habsburgs, which results in him getting imprisoned in the process. However, Rudenz manages to escape and returns to Baron Attinghausen to apologize for his actions, only to realize that it is too late, as his uncle draws his last breath. Rudenz unites his people to take on the invaders. On the other hand, Bertha gets imprisoned after rejecting Gessler’s advances.
Was William Able To Lead His Country To Freedom?
Captive duo William and Bertha are sent to Austria through the waterways, but both of them manage to escape after freeing themselves as the ship capsizes under tumultuous weather. As William prepares to take down Gessler after learning his possible location, Bertha advises him not to act out of personal vendetta and instead to look for a way to unify the people to fight for their freedom. As they part ways, William requests Bertha to find a way to prevent Albert from sending additional forces to Gessler; otherwise, the possibility of a rebellion will be nipped right in the bud.
On the other hand, under Suna and Gertrude’s guidance, various canton leaders band together, and Rudenz joins their coalition as well to infiltrate Alterdorf in Gessler’s absence. However, a turncoat ends up exposing their plan to Gessler, which results in the rebels’ cover getting blown, and in the ensuing conflict, Gertrude loses her life. William misses his chance to take down Gessler, and upon reuniting with the rebel forces, gets to know about the tragic news. Gertrude’s sacrifice adds fuel to William’s warrior spirit, who, finally shedding his self-doubt, rallies the rebels to rise up against Gessler’s forces. However, knowing that a crook like Gessler will use the Swiss residents of Alterdorf as hostages, William sends Furst and a couple of allies to infiltrate the settlement through a secret passage to destabilize the opposition.
Meanwhile, Bertha’s efforts to dissuade her uncle from carrying out an all-out attack on the rebels fail, and she is imprisoned for treachery against the royal family. Bertha manages to escape captivity with the help of one of her cousins and assassinates King Albert. As the war between Gessler’s forces and the rebels begins in Alterdorf, Rudenz and Stauffacher meet their end at Gessler’s hands. Once again, Gessler tries to secure his position by holding the women of the town and Walter as his hostages, and it seems luck is favoring him as well as Albert’s troops gather around the town. However, thanks to Bertha’s actions, the troops decide to fall back after the news of the king’s death reaches them, and seeing the additional forces retreat, Gessler’s army abandons him at once. William, finally having the tyrant at his mercy, decides to execute him in public as an act of retribution—but Walter stops his father in his tracks. During the initial phase of the movie, William had taught his son the difference between a hunter and a savage during a hunting lesson, and the same advice is now reiterated by Walter as he requests his father not to go down that path. Pretty sure this idealistic morality doesn’t apply to warfare, and in real life William actually killed Gessler to embolden the morale of the Swiss rebels, but the makers decided to take creative liberties in the movie to please the audience, I guess.
Days later, as William mourns the death of his fallen comrades, Bertha approaches him—sharing the news that following Albert’s death, his daughter, the newly crowned Queen Agnes, has sworn vengeance against the rebels. Which means the struggle for freedom will go on, with William leading his countrymen to take down the tyrannical House Habsburg. In reality, William Tell’s legendary actions led to the creation of the Swiss Confederacy, which took control back from the House of Habsburg through several wars that lasted till the late 15th century.
