Ok,
slightly dumb question. Does this count as a western? I think it must. There
are red Indians in it, and they are pitted against the “white man”, the
undoubted good character in the mix. There’s even a damsel in distress or two.
And if nothing else, it’s a John Ford movie. It doesn’t get more classic than
that. I’m ashamed to say that westerns are my Achilles heel when it comes to
cinematic knowledge. As in I must have watched about a total of five in my
life. Not counting films like Django Unchained of course – or in fact, the fact
that most Tarantino films are somehow offshoots of westerns no matter where and
how they are set. I have just realised
the irony of the situation actually. Since I am SUCH a fan of Tarantino, I’d
probably love westerns. Hmm. Must set about finding me some. I mean take this
one. I enjoyed this one.
Captain
Brittles is about to retire from the US Cavalry. He is well loved and respected
by his men and with his years of experience he has almost become a father
figure to them over the years. He has pretty much devoted his life to the
cavalry, especially since his wife and children died when he was quite a young
man. Now, at the end of an era, Captain Brittles doesn’t quite know what to do
with the rest of his time, however he is trying not to think about that. He is
concentrating on the one last remaining mission in hand, because is last
mission is going to be a slightly tricky one. He needs to lead a patrol round
the territory to quell a native uprising that has been boiling for some time,
growing in ferocity by the day. But as if that were not dangerous enough, he
must also take the wife and daughter of his commanding officer to safety. Will
Captain Brittles leave the cavalry in a blaze of glory befitting his
reputation? Or will he fall at the last hurdle and tarnish a so far spotless
career?
This film,
in fact, achieves something pretty similar to the “thing” The Corpse Bride
achieves, even though it’s in a completely different context. Let me try and
explain.
You know,
we like experiencing different things from time to time. Especially when it
comes to matters like art and cinema. We are not after clichés we are mostly
after things that excite, surprise and fascinate. But you know? Sometimes you
don’t want the latest development fusion cuisine. Sometimes you want comfort
food. Bangers and mash. A big slice of chocolate fudge cake. That’s what this
film is. Well, that’s what both films are in fact but this one more than others.
You know exactly what’s coming, you know what’s what. You know the good guys,
the bad guys and you also know the good guys will probably win out at the end
of the day. It’s the perfect tonic, I have found, after a long tiring day at
work. Captain Brittles is one of the archetype heroes the whole “man’s man”
hero has been based on today. Tough, manly… The character has been copied in
modern films and tv series down to the absent /deceased family. And do you know
something? When you take a big homely bite out of the cathartic experience that
is watching the film, you can see exactly why.
I mean
there’s a lot more to say about the film. It ranges from the fact that it uses
classic Hollywood editing down to the racist treatment the Native Americans get
in this film as they did in every “cowboys and Indians” type film of the era.
Now, I just want it noted that I strongly believe that there is a lot of very
interesting things one can do with a camera without being “Hollywood style”. I
also get shocked at the way native Americans were portrayed back in the day - i.e. either maniacs set out to kill or
powerless dunks. I invite you to take the phenomenon as the misconceptions and
ignorance of a past age. And to be fair on the film itself, although the
portrayals are not ideal – they are definitely slanted – they are not the worst
I have ever seen by a very, very long shot. See them as the archetypal “baddies”
in your common or garden “goodie vs baddie” type film and you’ll be ok. That
is, how I strongly feel the film intended them to be seen anyway.
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