The Brave [DVD]
date : May 12th, 2012Premier League Kits
Review : 3 Reviews
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United Kingdom released, PAL/Life of Zack & Cody: Lip Synchin in the Rain [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]” href=”http://www.premierleaguekits.co.uk/premier-league-kits/suite-life-of-zack-cody-lip-synchin-in-the-rain-dvd-region-1-us-import-ntsc.html”>Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Johnny Depp made his debut as a director and screenwriter with this allegorical tale of the plight of Native Americans. Raphael (Depp) is an alcoholic American Indian who lives in a hovel near a junkyard with his wife Rita (Elpidia Carillo) and his children Frankie (Cody Lightning) and Marta (Nicole Mancera); he scrapes tog
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Why was this film boycotted by the press?,
During an interview, JD said that when ‘The Brave’ was first screened atCannes, it received a standing ovation; the next day, one reviewer decidedto demolish the film, and the next thing you know is that the distributorshave pulled out and the whole project has turned into a fiasco.
Inever got to see the film until now, several years later, and what asurprise. A skeleton script with dialogue kept to a minimum, a palette ofdirt and dusty tones, and a very understated performance from JD – allthese elments somehow ‘ligthen up’ the darkness of the story.
Itmakes you lose faith in the film industry to think that this film wasshunned by the distributors, when other independent films like DonnieDarko become huge successes.
I can only put this down to the industry’s cowardice: it is not a happystory – in fact, it is possibly the darkest story I have ever come acrossin a film, and I have seen many. It will haunt you for a while.
Don’t even bother watching this film if you are expecting ‘traditional’Hollywood – this is independent cinema at its best.
One final word: thestory description on the back of the DVD cover is sligthly misleading.
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|A Masterpiece By Johnny Depp,
I read the reviews on this film the other day and was so intrigued about the film that I ordered it. I am a big Johnny Depp fan and was excited about seeing this movie as it was his first attempt at directing. I watched it as soon as it was delivered and I couldn’t move the whole way through. The first thing that struck me was there is no dialogue at all for the first ten minutes, and again the last ten are speechless. Johnny Depp plays Raphael, a Native American. He has two children and a wife to support, and isn’t doing a very good job. He decides that they would be better off without him and so takes a job from Marlon Brando.
This is where I have my only criticism. In the movie it isn’t made perfectly clear what the job entails, only that he will lose his life. But I think I can say, without jeapordising the plot, that the job is to star in a snuff movie. It actually says that on the back of the DVD case and I found that it makes the film all the more poingnant to know this.
Raphael is given one week to live before he has to go back and make the film. The movie follows his character as the week goes on, and it gets harder to watch as you feel his week coming to an end.
I spent the last ten minutes in absolute silence, except for my sobs and heart wrenching sadness. When it ended, I vowed not to watch it again for a while. But as the day wore on, I couldn’t get it out of my head. So much so that I actually broke down in tears again just thinking about it! I watched it again that evening and cried even more as I saw things I had missed first time round.
This film is an amazing directorial debut for Depp and I would definately want to see anything he may direct in the future. He has shown that not only is he a brilliant actor, he has talent behind the camera aswell. I think this film proves that he is not just a pretty face!
This definately isn’t for the lighthearted, but should you want to see something that will stay with you, then see this!!!
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|More Hidden Depps,
If you are going to watch Johnny Depp films, you need to appreciate that this man uses his face to tell his story- sometimes there is no need for dialogue.
I found this a beautiful and sad film. For me, it was about the racism that North American Indians still face in their own country and how a young man (Raphael) has lived a sterotypical life of trying to make ends meet, turning to booze and crime. As a consequence, he feels utterly worthless, figuring that selling his life so that his family can escape the life of poverty will be the best option.
The character displays such dignity, such warmth and such pain as we see (mainly though his facial expression) how he makes yet another rash decision, believing there is no other option. He then learns from his wife what he needs to do- ‘If you want to provide for your family, you have to love them’- so he rekindles his relationship with his wife and children for his last 7 days.
Marlon Brando is superb in his creepy role (did he agree to be in this after Don Juan?)and so is the nasty, nasty man who makes sure R does not change his mind. The scenes with the priest were superb too.
If you want to see JD tortured then you will be dissapointed (and have missed the whole atmosphere of the film). If you want to see a beautiful and sensitive actor and director, then this is one for you.
When you see an actor, you never know how much is him and how much is good direction- when you see an actor who has directed himself, you know it has come from the heart. This film is not just about Raphael but is a strong statement about discrimination and the consequences- perhaps that is why it was condemned by the critics, maybe it made some Americans too uncomfortable?.
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