Mumbai, Aug 24 (IANS): Filmmaker David Lowery's latest film 'The Green Knight' is a modern retelling of the 14th century poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'.

Lowery says the story had a great impact and opened up about the difficulties in adapting a poem.

British actor of Indian descent Dev Patel stars as the lead in 'The Green Knight', which revisits the epic tale of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's headstrong nephew who journeys to dangerous lands to battle the infamous Green Knight, after a deadly deal goes awry.

Lowery reminisces about reading the poem in his freshman year at college: "The story had an impact on me. I loved the idea of a young man engaging in such a ridiculous wager — the notion that someone would commit to a game in which the price of winning was losing one's life."

Talking about the difficulties in adapting the poem, he said: "I didn't truly understand why this poem has stood the test of time until I was well into the process of making it, by which point I realized what a daunting task I'd set out upon."

"How do you make a beheading game make sense to a modern audience?"

Despite the daunting task, the central theme really struck a chord with Lowery.

"The concept of chivalry in relation to a young person figuring out what type of man he's going to be was the root of this story for me, the subject is present in the original text but it's something that makes this story incredibly timely."

'The Green Knight' also features Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton among others.

PVR Pictures is set to release 'The Green Knight' on August 27.