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Reviews2
writeumcowboy-1's rating
I watched this incredible HD feature at the Dallas Deep Ellum Film Festival (where it walked away with a big award) and was amazed that the filmmaker had pulled off such a huge film for a small budget. Filmed in California, Mir Bahmanyar somehow managed to transform a California desert to the middle east, but that transformation was second to the incredible transformation by Bill Mendieta into a Muslim fighter who harbors a deadly secret. At the completion of the movie, at first I was surprised by the ending, but realized the subtext of the story must be met (congrats to Bahmanyar and Kuhlen). Tim Abel's Knight Templar and Mendieta's characters dominate the story with an ease of slipping into the skin of such three dimensional characters. Mapi Galan, whom they discovered in Spain, helped develop the story into a rich depth with her beautiful and exotic Sohelia who mesmerizes the men who visit her tent and seem to alter their attitudes towards war. Neil Lisk's cinematography was exceptional and if you look at the crew you'll note that Mir Bahmanyar's name is all over the place, and this was due to his dedication of getting the story made and offered to the viewing public.
Lousy excuse for a western. The protagonist is hard to like at all, and his Grandfather, Harvey Keitel as Johhny Lowden, is misused and colorless. The worst part of the whole script is how a tribe of Native Americans sit at their village and wait for the village news carrier come and tell everyone of the arrival of Johnny Lowden and then David Bowie's character (one of the worst characters I've ever seen). The village never does anything but be a sounding board and then parties after the bad guy is dead, and one must wonder why the hell do they care? When the town elder foretells the future of the two meeting, it's laughable. Guess why they call it a comedy. The town loon is a poorly developed character who looses a chance to be of much value except at the end. Even Harvey Keitel finds it hard to fake laughter at the conclusion.
The western genre is not dead, but this poor excuse for a story should have been a "pass" and never green-lighted.
The western genre is not dead, but this poor excuse for a story should have been a "pass" and never green-lighted.