Benutzerrezensionen

Based loosely on Thomas Hardy's novel "Mayor of Casterbridge" this is a valiant recreation transposed from England to the cold mountains of early California. A man sells his wife and daughter for a gold-mining claim. Years later, when he is the local sheriff, his wife and daughter return. A sub-plot documents the arrival of the railroad construction. This has all the makings of a truly great movie but unfortunately is good without being great. The first half is particularly disappointing - the camera fails to linger where there are wonderful scenic shots of breathtaking beauty or dialogue that could have emotional impact. It lingers over boring, inconsequential scenes. The movie also veers stomach-churningly between episodes of gripping realism to episodes where it simply looks all too obviously like actors on a set reciting their lines. Verging on pretentiousness at times, The Claim still manages to pull through as a worthwhile film, largely because it is worth seeing for the bits that work well.

The movie was shot in sub-zero Calgary, Canada, and considering the lengths to which the film makers went to in order to achieve authenticity, it is sad that the finished result was rather less than finished.

This is a rare British attempt at a Western, albeit an uncharacteristic one about a small mining town clashing with the oncoming railroad: it's reasonably well served by the stark cinematography, Michael Nyman's dramatic underscoring and a surprisingly able cast (the most impressive being Peter Mullan as the town leader with a secret past and Milla Jovovich as the chanteuse who has hooked up with him).

Given the director, the film strives for absolute realism (down to the varying accents of the multi-national townspeople and the kind of entertainment provided in the dingy saloon); this, coupled with its relentless solemnity and a plot which isn't as engaging as it should be - actually containing a good deal of padding, particularly its baffling emphasis on the blossoming romance between a prospector and a prostitute - results in a rather uneasy film, one that's not remembered with affection! However, the tragic finale - with Mullan's dreams literally going up in flames - is effectively handled.

Curiously enough, watching THE CLAIM I was reminded of Nicolas Roeg's similar EUREKA (1983) - which also revolved around a family undone by the lust for gold - though it lacks that film's striking imagery (not to mention its equally distinctive eccentricity).

One of the most remarkable adaptations of a literary work I've seen. Frank Cottrell Boyce completely changes Thomas Hardy's classic The Mayor of Casterbridge - and actually betters it lifting it from its original setting and tailoring it into a tale of the American West during the Gold Rush. Some of Hardy's holes hold (predictable) difficulty for many modern readers, but Boyce's western retelling fills them in and lends strong plausibility. (There's a tad too much "faint, fall ill and die" for me in the Hardy original). Some have complained that Boyce went too far - but this is a movie "based" on the book not claiming to be a faithful retelling.

Director Michael Winterbottom proves to have an enormous eye emerging in bold style at once stylized and natural. He brings us here images that, once seen, burn, linger and haunt forever be it a Victorian mansion hauled across the frozen plains or a horse's immolation as on fire it gallops across the screen.

Winterbottom's cast is a strong one - none remaining as they initially seem, each changing before our eyes. Kinski, first strong and bitter gives one of her most tender heartbreaking performances, Wes Bentley, likable and promising becomes petty and meddlesome. Milla Jovovich serves up, predictably, hearty and hot, yet more delicate than she would like to appear.

In all of this Peter Mullan's Daniel Dillon is the focus and the fulcrum by which the story hinges. He is never less than masterful. To see him early on nearly ravaged by youthful greed then watch him in age yearn for salvation that may never come or come too late, one cannot help but be riveted by his endeavor to make up by his plight and his attempt to change it.

The Claim is a remarkable film which, while it may take a bit of time to warm up to, burns its own unique reward in a way few modern Hollywood films can.

As many viewers have noted, The Claim has much in common visually with McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Like Altman's much more entertaining and memorable film, The Claim offers gorgeous cinematography replete with snow-covered mountain vistas, realistic sets of a gritty pioneer mining town, and authentically costumed anti-heroic characters highlighted by a contingent of distinctly non-glamorous prostitutes. Its highly evocative musical score includes a stunningly original and effective diegetic use of the Portuguese fado.

In addition, The Claim offers some fascinating period details about the creation of the railroad and other little-seen aspects of 19th century pioneer life (like the medicinal use of electricity!). It also offers some stunning special effect fire and explosion sequences and generally fine acting (despite the dubious casting of Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley as the romantic leads). All in all, The Claim is in many respects a worthy latecomer to the revisionist school of the Western genre and is definitely worth viewing.

However, it does have a serious weakness that I believe derives from its verbally minimalist adaptation of a classic literary text, The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. In place of Hardy's verbally constructed world of dark consuming passions, cosmic irony, and heavy fatalism, The Claim offers a visually rich but emotionally remote, dreamlike air that some critics have described as richly poetic, but that left me often feeling utterly disconnected from the events befalling the major characters.

Establishing characters' motivations and building/releasing tensions in their relationships is just a whole lot easier to do if words are allowed to reinforce (not substitute for) images. Instead, The Claim seems like it was filmed directly from a treatment that offered only the barest smattering of dialogue. In a story that wasn't so dependent on character this approach might have worked much better than it does here.

Not knowing what The Claim was fully about, I jumped into the movie anyway. Throughout the first half of the movie, it moved slowly, in some ways it seemed as to present the stark and remote environment of the West, but the pace was not always replaced with atmosphere. The plot was also ambiguous and confusing, probably due to the initial cabin scene in which things were not laid out clearly, the "Claim" exchange was downplayed as almost a side thing. It was not helped by by the sudden disappearance of a beard from the old Dillon to a younger one in a flashback, at the same time a bearded Burn appears in the cabin. This lead to a lot of who was whom, who owned "Thy Kingdom Come" along other false chases based on faulty assumptions until the plot slowly unfolded.

The plot picks up later on, when we find the significance of each character and how they are intertwined with others, along with the fact that no matter what decision each person takes, it will have devastative consequences for other people. It eventually leads to the ending in which we realize how true Burns' (the original owner of the cabin) feeling was when he agreed to the swap.

The cinematography really showed the vast space there was out in the West. With ever expanding views of the mountains up close and in the distance. Blurring of the images was also used, a technique rarely used in a period piece, but it was effective viaually.

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this DVD for $4. The cover showed one of those forgettable everybody-stare-at-the-camera-and-try-to-look-cool" images, and the title itself makes it seem like a forgettable pulp novel. "The Claim". Wooooo. The only reason I bought it was because I'm a fan of Natassja Kinski.

Well, Natassja didn't really have a leading role; instead the film focused mostly on Peter Mullan as Mr. Dillon, the wealthy, powerful owner of "Kingdom Come", a small but promising town at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Although there are several interesting subplots, the story is about him, and Mullan delivers an excellent performance. He is neither good nor evil but a believable human character who is caught up in his ambition.

...which leads me to the title of my review. I highly recommend you read the short poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley before watching this film. The film itself uses it briefly in the beginning where a stage performer recites parts of it to an audience. This immediately piqued my interest, since Ozy is one of my favourite poems. As the story progressed, I realized that this injection was not trivial; the film is essentially built on the story of Ozymandias, and once you realize that, you'll be able to focus on the main theme.

As I said, there are several sub-themes that are interwoven: Milla Jovovich plays a great role of a singer who's not the "marrying type" (and by the way, she sings some great Portugese songs). Wes Bentley plays a young official for the railroad, sort of a play-by-the-rules boyscout type who is at odds with the subjective rules of the old west. Natassja is a woman slowly dying of consumption and haunted by a bitter past. Sarah Polley is her daughter, innocent and oblivious but learning quickly. They all deliver great performances with my only criticism being their accents which are a little too modern, but if you can overlook that, there's no problem.

The director used some unusual techniques which caught my attention. For one thing, when switching to dream sequences, he didn't do the stereotypical sepia tint and harp plucking to announce "hey we're going to a dream sequence". It may confuse you at first, but it keeps you on your toes.

This film has a very epic feel to it, perhaps like Sergio Leone's classic "Once Upon a Time in the West", and at just under 2 hours, the length and pacing seem right. But somehow I didn't quite get as much character development as I would've wanted. I suppose that's plain math... if we have 5 main characters, that gives each one only 24 minutes. Less if you consider that the main focus is on Mullan. But perhaps upon repeated viewings, you can get more of a story on each of them.

One other criticism I have is that the musical score wasn't very dynamic. It seemed to repeat the same 2 sweeping chords over & over. Then silence. Then back to the same 2 chords. Repeat. But this is a minor criticism, and I doubt you would've even noticed it had I not said anything. Oopsie, sorry bout that. But like I said earlier, Milla's singing provides enough to impress us musically.

Overall, it's a good film and a great interpretation of Ozymandias in the Old West (again I urge you to read the poem so you may find the same beauty in the film as I did). Also if you have a Blockbuster near you, check out the used pile where you can find this for $4. Definitely worth the price.

One of my favourite things about this fine film is that the characters have European accents; too often films set in the American frontier of the 19th Century have their characters speaking in unlikely modern American accents. It adds greatly to the film's believability, as well as reminding the viewer that these were people who left their homelands, usually to escape extreme poverty, and started a new life in what was (to the white man) unknown territory; this utter anonymity helps explain the actions of some of the characters in the film. Indeed the central theme, the cost of sacrificing what one has for a possible better life, is an aspect of emigration itself; the poem "Noreen Bán" recited by Hope Byrne recalls the tragedy of mass emigration from Ireland after the Great Famine, so its impact on Dillon is multiplied.

Great credit is also due to the actors, excellent performances all round.

I've waited a long time for its release here and have to express my disappointment at the final result. Hardy's work has long been a rich source for many British television dramatizations and a few successful films like 'Tess' and 'Jude'. Given the setting the film should have looked spectacular and yet colour, clarity and/or composition spoil beautiful images that Ridley Scott or Terrence Malick would not have wasted. The story of betrayal and shame is interesting but it is exposed by too many awkwardly staged scenes, often with banal dialogue. No role is given enough flesh by the screenwriter and much of the acting talent is wasted, particularly Wes Bentley after his electric performance in 'American Beauty'. There are too many snowbound vistas and insufficient character exposition. Like 'McCabe and Mrs Miller' the deprivation and conditions of a frontier town are not hidden, yet the only thing to thaw the ice and snow is the climactic fire rather than any real emotional warmth from the characters. However Nyman's music does do justice to the mountainous panoramas.

My town is a small one and we can only have the chance to see the big Hollywood productions.I had to wait for months to see this movie and I found it at Blockbusters yesterday.The cast is a dream cast for me I always liked Peter Mullan after My name is Joe.Milla Jovovich is an actress which I really find passionate.When the film was over I could not believe how bad it was.Meaningless details,bad picture quality and unbelievably bad story. I am so sorry for the cast and the director.

One thing I loved about this film is also the thing that took it down a notch: The place looked so real. It did not seem like a movie set. It did not even seem like a movie, with actors saying their lines. It was more like you were eavesdropping on a town. One way they showed this was overlapping dialogue. There would be several different conversations at once. You'd catch the tail end of one, the main thrust of another, and the beginning of yet another conversation. All this contributed to make it one of the most realistic movies I've ever seen.

The disadvantage in this is that I think the director spent too much camera time on incidental dialogue, and not enough on dialogue involving the main plot. Some incredibly emotional scenes were cut short. Just when you think you're going to get hit with it, it moves to a scene where Milla is talking to Bentley about something trivial. And those shots lasted far too long. I understand that in movie making, you don't want to focus on the sentimental, because if you do, it can come out maudlin and manipulative. But in this case, I felt a little cheated.

Still...I was deeply moved by several scenes in the movie. So it wasn't devoid of all emotion. I just felt in places it could have been stronger.

Nastassja Kinski was perfect for her role, and I don't say that about her very often. She looked every bit like she could have an 18 year old daughter, and yet she was also incredibly childlike and delicate herself. And beautiful, in a pale, pathetic, used way. Actually, the best term to describe her in this movie is "haunting."

Peter Mullan was awesome. I have never seen him in anything, but I was fascinated. Milla was like an over-ripe exotic bird. She was excellent at nailing greedy desperation. As for the subplot with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley, I was not terribly moved by it. These two were not bad, but not outstanding in any way, either.

Scenery was fantastic. You know how some movies stick with you for awhile? This is one of those.

Probably more reminiscent of Heaven's Gate than the filmmakers would like, The Claim ultimately works much more effectively than Cimino's movie, for reasons that include Michael Winterbottom's ability to reign himself in a bit. One can almost feel the director yearning to make the movie bigger and more grandiose, but that would not be to its ultimate benefit. The first half hour is interminably boring, but the film ultimately overcomes that with a fine second half. I felt Wes Bentley was good, but may have been a bit miscast. He doesn't have the edge or mystique that one might have wanted from his character as a wandering surveyor for the railroad. Sarah Polley is excellent, and strikes an uncanny resemblance to the young Sondra Locke. Fortunately, she has more going on than Ms. Locke. The centerpiece performance really belongs to Peter Mullan. While Nastassia Kinski's role as a dying woman might give her a little more to play off of, Mullan usually has to play his role with more subtle looks. He does quite well at that. Winterbottom attempts to give this Western a very spare, haunting feel, and has mixed success. As mentioned, the first half seems to be regarded with more gravity by Winterbottom than the forward motion of the story should allow. The scene in the cabin that reveals the secret that Peter Mullan holds comes much too early, and is much too short. One misses the weight and import of this scene, simply because Peter Mullan agrees to the Faustian bargain much too soon. By the end, Winterbottom and the writer have managed to fashion a rather engrossing Western with a fairly classic feel. One feels that it would have been something Eastwood might have considered twenty-five years ago. The music is a real high point, with composer Michael Nyman using the requisite inspiration of Ennio Morricone's Once Upon a Time in the West (it is subtle, but it is there), while fashioning a haunting work in his own right. Cinematography by Alwin H. Kuchleris is tragically average. While the vistas are beautiful, and the look of the film should have been amazing, the work is too inconsistent. In the end, The Claim can be considered a flawed success. It isn't perfect, but it contains enough of value to sustain it, and the mere attempt at creating a Western of great artistic magnitude is appreciated.

Although set in a remote Sierra Nevada mining town in 1867, `The Claim' is really Thomas Hardy's classic novel, `The Mayor of Casterbridge' transported to American soil. The move is a good one.

The story concerns a wealthy miner named Daniel Dillon who practically runs the town of Kingdom Come as his own personal fiefdom. One fateful day three groups of people arrive into town: some railroad surveyors who offer the possibility that a train may soon be passing through the town, bringing with it people, wealth and prosperity; some prostitutes who plan to open up shop in this all-male community; and a sickly woman and her beautiful young daughter, who, it turns out, are the wife and daughter that Dillon sold for a bag of gold in his desperate youth – a decision he has lived to rue ever since.

Given this multi-character canvas, writer Frank Cottrell Boyce and director Michael Winterbottom take an almost painterly approach, allowing the drama to unfold at an unhurried pace, so that they can concentrate on the bleak snowy winter setting which ends up playing as great a role in the drama as the characters themselves. The most compelling of these is Dillon, a figure of almost tragic proportions, a man who seizes the chance to make amends for his heinous sin, yet who discovers, all too late, that, for some sins, there can be no redemption. Peter Mullan provides a superbly understated interpretation of a man whose acquisition of immense wealth and power only mask the loneliness and guilt he feels inside. Wes Bentley as the chief railroad surveyor, Nastassja Kinski as Dillon's ailing wife, Sarah Polley as their daughter and Milla Jovovich as Dillon's devoted mistress all turn in outstanding performances. Although none of these characters are afforded the same richness and depth that Dillon is, they still create a fascinating tapestry of conflicting dreams and emotions. For the concept of `dreams' is a core element of the story's pioneer theme. Here are a group of rugged individualists, all enduring great hardships on a wild outpost far away from the soothing amenities of civilized life – yet all dreaming of being a part of the building of a burgeoning new nation, of which the makeshift towns and railroad-building are truly indelible symbols.

And, indeed, in many ways, it is the images – of rugged mountains, of the relentlessly falling snow, of a house being pulled by horses across a snowy plain – that stick with us most profoundly. `The Claim' is a somber, moving and fascinating glimpse into our pioneer past.

Set in California in the 1860's. When Dalglish(Bentley) comes to the small town of Kingdom Come to bring a railroad to it, Dillon(Mullan) must confront the terrible secret of his past, of what happened twenty years prior. I didn't know what to expect from this, and the front of the cover certainly didn't give much of a clue. Honestly, I got it(on sale) because of my seemingly never-ending crush on Milla Jovovich(I can see worlds beyond in her eyes... and for anyone else who might watch this for her, she's in it a pretty reasonable amount, and she is gorgeous, charming, and sometimes pouty and raunchy in it), and as usual, she does a great job acting(everyone in this does) and is a sight to behold. This is the only version of this story that I've seen, so I can't compare it to any other. I haven't caught anything else by this director, either. This moves at a gradual pace. It's an epic drama(complete with breathtaking scenery) set in the same time, but it is not a Western. The accents come and go. This shows how relationships and gender roles were back then. There is a bit of strong language, female nudity and sexuality in this. The DVD comes with the original theatrical trailer. I recommend this to fans of the cast and/or this genre. 7/10

Exploring the depth of a man's soul, after he sells his wife and infant daughter for a gold stake and then strikes it rich; Daniel Dillion is unexpectedly reunited with them some twenty years later as his past rolls into town. Elana, now ill, and her grown daughter Hope arrive on the train, along with surveyor Daniel Daglish and his team, deciding if Kingdom Come will step into modernity with the coming railroad. It's interesting as both a critique of lust for money, but also as an elegy for the old west and a midlife turning point for Mr. Dillon. Beautifully shot with a powerful story and action, this is a a western that feels timeless and should not escape into obscurity. They probably don't make 'em like this anymore. Recommended.

My fave film of 2001 yet. In another week I may not have gone to see this, so I'm glad there were no other releases that appealed to me, because I wouldn't want to have missed this - I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. Yes, it is reminiscent of 'Heaven's Gate', but this is probably better, if only for the fact that you won't have to devote half a day to see it. It has its flaws certainly - for instance, Wes Bentley's character doesn't really convince - but its positives far outweigh those: it looks great, the performances are excellent, and it's moving without being sentimental. Although her character was maybe just a little too sweet and humble for me (but that's not really her fault) Sarah Polley steals the show. Peter Mullan was class too, but (again, not the actor's fault) I did find it hard to reconcile how old he looked given the timescale and his character as depicted in flashback - though I guess the hard life of a prospector in 1860's America would have taken it's toll. This movie does give you a feel for how life would have been at that time and place, and for the importance the railways played in the country's development. The moral of the story is the old one about selling your soul for filthy lucre, you have to live with your sins and your mistakes, and you can't put a price on love. I rarely pay to go see a movie twice, but I might just make an exception for this one. Don't miss.

It's 1867 in the town of Kingdom Come, Sierra Nevada, California. Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan) runs the town. Donald Dalglish (Wes Bentley) comes to town to survey for the railroad. Lucia (Milla Jovovich) is a singer. Hope Burn (Sarah Polley) comes to town with her mother Elena (Nastassja Kinski) looking for her father. Twenty years ago, Dillon had sold his wife and daughter to another gold miner for a mine.

It's moody, gritty, and meandering at first. It's not clear what's going on or even who the main characters are. It's a mystery slowly unraveled. It does payoff but it makes the audience work for it. It doesn't always flow fluidly. There is a stark beauty to the mountain location and the tragic characters.

The vast majority of movies either sink or swim, depending upon what is up on the screen. For those kinds of films, it makes no difference what is their literary legacy because they presuppose no antecedent, unlike a sequel or a film based upon a tv series. "The Claim" begins with the brownish look of some of the earlier Clint Eastwood westerns and seems to almost attempt to emulate some of that feeling. Naming a town, Kingdom Come, almost immediately brings to mind Pale Rider with "The Claim" lacking the austerity of that film. No one can fault the backdrop of this movie - the Sierra Nevada's. There is hope that this will be more than a decent film with an adequate budget and good actors because it is associated with the BBC. It certainly has a look to it that strives for authenticity. So how does it turn out?

The British underpinning of this movie can either take one of two forms: tally ho and away we go or the stiff British lip that one finds in sound bites from its parliament with those "here, here." Well, the 'here, here" gets the nod here. Even with its nudity, the film is too conservative, indicating a misunderstanding of the feel of the old American west. Whoever wrote the script should have studied the early Clint Eastwood movies (such as "The Outlaw Josey Wales") more thoroughly. It is just too genteel and lacks rawness.

Nastassja Kinski receives third billing in this film. Her role is the glue that holds this movie together. Very early on, for those looking for her, she is seen in 1/8th profile for less than a second and then holding on for dear life as an open ended wagon bounces along the dirt road with her and her daughter in the back. At best, this role is two dimensional and clearly lacks depth because none was called for in the portrayal of a dying woman. As soon as she is shown coughing up blood, it is obviously curtains for her with the hope that she can make something out of the role like Clint Eastwood in "Honkytonk Man" - she can't. She does what she has to with a convincing cough.

The other actors, with more defined and difficult roles, are simply not up to the task to pull them off in a convincing manner. They fail to rise to the occasion. Wes Bentley, as Dalglish, is not credible. He would appear to be more comfortable waiting on tables in between acting jobs at Campanile, a restaurant in Los Angeles. He doesn't appear to possess the mental grit to cold heartedly kill someone, much less spearhead the laying out of a railroad in the wild west. Milla Jovovich as Lucia is passable. There is no electricity in her performance even with her prosthetic gold tooth. Peter Mullan as Daniel Dillon is way too conservative. The role calls for more emotional espression or at least the hint of it. Sarah Polley being a young actress of 20 or so at the time, must have been thrilled to get the role and isn't pushed very hard on the performance scale.

"The Claim" is a movie that is very much like a full cup of water in its beginning, but by the end of the movie one realizes that there is a hole at the bottom of the cup because everything has dribbled away. Simply put, it lacks passion and emotional content.

I have been following this director for a while and I always liked his films but this time he has exceeded my expectations.

'The Claim' is like an ancient greek tragedy and Dillon is its' hero. Dillon is a man who goes West with his wife and new born daughter in order to find gold. In the process he sells his wife and his daughter in exchange for that gold. Years later his wife will come back to haunt him and Dillon comes to realize how empty his life has been, how irrelevant wealth can be to happiness. The story is so beautifully told and the last scene where the people of the new city of Lisboa prey on Dillon's gold is a metaphor or at least I would like it to be. I think Winterbottom wanted to show how the world will never change, how people will continue to go after that gold. Dillon came and went, but he didn't leave anything behind him. He achieved all those things, he was a pioneer he went out West, he was one of the people who built America but he didn't win his daughter's heart. And it makes one wonder, what was the point of his life. 'The Claim' is the story of America itself, an America that was built on greed, on the quest for new lands, new conquers and prosperity. Peter Mullan gives us an excellent performance, as well as Sarah Polley as the elegant young daughter and Milla Jovovich. Nastasia Kinsky has a rather insignificant role and Wes Bentley is disappointing. Overall, a very good film, a piece of art by Winterbottom and a story that you won't forget for a while.

I found this to be a good movie, against all warnings to stay away. It had a quiet, natural feel, which is more refreshing to me than a big Hollywood epic that always has to be showing off. Beautifully shot and well-acted, this is a good film for watching on a Sunday afternoon.

This is a bloated pompous mess of a movie that looks really good and wants to be good, but cannot be. The editing is mostly to blame. It jumps around from time period to time period without much warning and then there are the events in the movie that make little sense. For example, why does a fully furnished house moved into place by men and horses, not have broken dishes, crockery, paintings on the floor, etc.? Instead everything is perfect when the actors step inside. And why is a train circa 1930's running around in 1900 California? And how on God's green Earth could someone be buried six feet under when there is a good two feet of snow on the ground (anyone who lives in a snowbound area knows this is impossible)? Wes Bentley isn't so much acting as just saying lines. The one thing this movie had in its favor is that none of the actors had straight teeth - and that would be fitting for the era...