Change Your Image
schless74
Reviews
Into the West (2005)
Historical fiction and the Story of the West
This is a powerful, emotional, and entertaining telling of major events of the settling of the West, and the clash between white settlers and the various Native tribes spread throughout the Western half of the United States. I stumbled upon the series on youtube, I hadn't previously heard of it, which seems astounding since there are so many well known actors/actresses, and the involvement of Steven Spielberg.
One of the things I like about the series is the mysticism and spirituality surrounding the medicine wheel and the buffalo. I know it sounds cliché, but I think it was well done, to have as a central theme the stone medicine wheel of the Sioux and the coming of the wheeled wagons across the west. These wagons really did leave permanent scars on the Earth- where I lived in Wyoming there are still remnants of the Oregon Trail and wagon footprints.
And I think many Native tribes did have prophecies about the coming of white people and settlers. The use of native languages is particularly appealing to me- I think to truly understand native cultures of the time you need to hear expressions done in their languages. Some of the prophecies have yet to be decided. It was only 20 years after Wounded Knee that the first world war started, followed by the second. We're now engaged in wars in the middle east which have sometimes been prophecied by natives.
So many characters, Thunder Heart Woman and Jacob Wheeler standing out in my opinion (many people did not like the actor portraying Wheeler, but I enjoyed his narration and heart centered actions). The violence of the crow raid, the amazing scenes of the bison hunt, the western scenery, and the telling of important historical events are crucial to the tale. Many Americans are still not knowledgeable about the events.
The only criticism is that one family might have been around to see and participate in all the historical events. Otherwise, there of course is creative license, but this is one of the best movies/series about the West I've seen.
Recently John Trudell, native artist/activist passed away. I highly recommend his spoken word to those who are interested.
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
Hollywood man eating lions
I watched the Ghost and the Darkness last night. And I have mixed feelings about it. It evokes some powerful imagery and emotions. I lived in Tanzania, Africa recently, serving in the Peace Corps. So it brought back a few powerful memories of Africa. So here it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
First the good. The imagery and scenery of Africa (Kenya)- although shot in South Africa. The tall grass, the river, a few giraffes, trees, an African village, surrounding mountains. The cinematography is mostly good. That it is based on a true story of the building of the railroad in colonial Africa is also interesting. That there were two ferocious man eating lions that terrorized the builders, and that the engineer was able to kill them is a fascinating story. And the hides can be seen in a Chicago museum.
I thought Michael Douglas's role added a lot to the movie, even if his character didn't occur in real life. He just kind of appears out of nowhere with a bunch of Maasai who are ready to hunt the lion. Douglas looks like a wild bush white man. The movie would have been a lot duller without him. The role of the Maasai hunting the lion is fascinating. I lived near Maasai in Tanzania, and this movie portrays some of their rituals which is entertaining and adds some realism.
The story of the colonial period, building railroads, Africans and other nationalities, and the dangers and harshness of Africa are intriguing. The story does have an emotional pull to it. The African character adds some sense of authenticity to the movie. There are snippets of the language of Swahili which I know.
Now the bad. The movie, like another reviewer said, is filled with clichés. I thought Val Kilmer's character was too neat- too confident, too self assured. His first night in Africa, after doing a drive by of giraffes earlier in the day, and he is already up in a tree shooting a lion with his first shot. The lions, while being based on a real story of two ferocious lions that truly did kill a bunch of people, are portrayed in a Jaws like fashion.
I'm an environmental/conservationist. The problem with a movie like Jaws is it falsely portrays all sharks as vicious killers. This movie portrays all lions that way. I read recently that more people are killed taking selfies of themselves than are killed by sharks each year. We all know that lions and sharks are being decimated every year by rampant poaching and killing. So for someone who is knowledgeable about animal biology, the film is mostly rubbish.
You won't get much insight into African culture here. There are mostly stereotypes of heroic whites, scared/submissive Africans and Asians, and the portrayal of the nice colonial master is unrealistic. The dialogue is pretty weak, the storyline isn't great, acting OK.
Still entertaining to see Africa and lions but not a great movie.
Cinco de Mayo: La batalla (2013)
Interesting historical portrayal of Mexico
Cinco de Mayo shows the French intrigue into the Mexican war of independence. First the positive things. The videography is outstanding, in my opinion. The camera work may not please all viewers, but I found it an intriguing yet chaotic portrayal of battle scenes which dominate the movie. The story itself is intriguing, and can enlighten audiences into details of this war and the European powers, especially the French, attempts at interference.
Kuno Becker plays the role of the brooding, calculating General Ignacio Zarazoga quite well. Christian Vasquez does a decent job as Juan Osorno, although the character goes through a slightly unrealistic transformation. Liz Gallardo as Citlali shows some depth and promise as an actress.
Now the downsides. Too much of the movie is battle scenes- more of the plot could be developed instead. The French are portrayed as excessively sinister and evil which I don't think is accurate, although they may have committed atrocities during this war. And the characters could be developed more with a a little more depth.
Overall I'd recommend it and give it seven stars. It's not a perfect movie, but does inform the audience of the turbulent historical period in Mexico. PS it's very violent.