There may be no historical foundation for Linklater’s tale of a fantastic war in the 1st century A.D. between the giant Furbister and the abominable Old McGammon, his neighbour in the south-west of Scotland, but their quarrel – which provides a background to the engaging love story of the wilful poet Albyn and the delightful Princess Liss – has a real enough interest and no small significance in our equally strange world of today. Here, in this tale of some very modern primitives, love makes the running but fails to win the race.
Linklater’s seriousness is nicely garnished with wit, and sometimes at the mercy of humour. The fascination of the story carries its outlandishness as lightly as a feather.
