Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by dave c (A) on November 08, 2006 at 05:03:58

This film is sometimes called Renegade. It was directed by Jan Kounen in 2004.

This mystical/supernatural western is an intriguing if ultimately disappointing film of personal revenge and spiritual growth set against a landscape so mythic as to make it possibly the star of the film. There are Native American initiation scenes which are about the most genuinely tripped out pieces of film I have ever seen, so beautiful and frightening it is quite shocking.
The cast (Vincent Cassel, Juliette Lewis, Eddie Izzard) do not seem called upon to convince but to look meaningful (in my opinion) and the somewhat longwinded timing could annoy but there is a lot to like here.
There are not many films like this and it can grip you and trip you. Hell I'm getting all hippy over this.
Don't worry.
I can think of few films that work in these areas, perhaps, in a way, Performance. There is certainly a Roeg-ish otherness to it.
Oh, but the CGI effects are very very superior and not just to recreate reality, it goes way beyond that.
Wow. One part of this film is the perfect visual accompaniment for The Grateful Dead's What's become Of The Baby.
It is very strange.