- Also known as:
- Unknown
- Year:
- 1949
- Country/ies:
- USA
- Predominant Genre:
- Western
- Author(s)/Director(s):
- John Ford
- Best Performance(s):
- Joanne DRU
- John WAYNE
- Premiss:
- Spying on the enemies of Socialism brings out paranoia and the bitter realisation that such politically-correct vindictiveness creates a lack of personal fulfilment.
- Theme(s):
- Political Correctness
- White supremacy
- Similar (in Plot, Theme or Style) to:
- Searchers
- Review Format:
- Cinema
A US Cavalry movie that cannot really come to terms with the existence of Indians. They are alternately picturesque additions to the landscape, violent savages, threats to be controlled or children to be patronized.
The inherent White supremacy of such a position is not dramatically explored for fear of revealing its nature as White supremacy: It is accepted as natural and such normalizing undermines the drama. The issue of a “war to drive the White man forever from the red man’s hunting ground” is never productively explored except to suggest that the good Indian stays on his reservation and knows his place. At least that is better than saying this is only true of a dead Indian, but not much.
The Technicolor is very rich indeed here and is used intelligently by the director (John Ford) to expressively evoke emotions - particularly those associated here with young love (yellow) and nostalgia (red brown). The landscape becomes a character in its own right - at once as threatening and as beautiful as the hostile Indians themselves. The hoity toity females look very fetching in rich blue army uniforms and Joanne DRU is particularly striking in this regard as the woman who worships more her affect on the men than any man in particular. John WAYNE offers a fine performance as an older man who generates a great deal of empathy – especially when conversing with his dead wife at her graveside. His face, in fact, almost becomes a part of the landscape itself.
Ford’s particular gift - as a romantic filmmaker - is his ability to shoot breathtaking panoramas in painterly compositions with epic scenes of action; while never forgetting the vividness of the characters presented against such landscapes. After all, if they were not vivid, why on earth would they have ever ventured from their comfortable eastern lives to an inhospitable desert? Yet, this film is fatally flawed by a lack of narrative focus, any true grit and character relationships; suggesting this film is not really about anything in particular at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment