Blueberry und der Fluch der Dämonen

Jan Kounen's latest effort is an existentialist western with opulent visuals, threadbare characterization and a shamanistic undercurrent. It is really unique, but it really isn't brilliant in its uniqueness. The only film that it vaguely reminds me of is EL TOPO, but taken in full, it's still quite different from anything that's out there.

It's a yarn that is suffering an identity crisis - it really doesn't know what it wants to be, and no one element of it wins out in the end. It will not appeal to most western genre fans because even though it has the trappings (and cliches) of a western, it doesn't follow through with them and the characters are too one-note to be likeable or dislikeable. It fails as a revealing exploration of shamanism because it doesn't give the uninitiated any background.

BLUEBERRY has a great cast, but for the most part they're wasted (no pun intended - Tcheky Karyo, in particular) and some of the casting seems gimmicky, especially that of Ernest Borgnine. Even Cassel, who is usually compelling and tries hard, fails to engage. Juliette Lewis does hold interest in a sexy turn as the spirited girl (favorite line - after hitting the weasely character Prosit who stumbles into the saloon, interrupting her rendition of a folk tune, she blurts out "You ruined my song!") in love with the protagonist, and there are some nice full-frontal shots of her in the nude underwater towards the end - one of the film's assets.

Kounen seems to have made a conscious effort to make something really different from his previous film, the brilliantly over-the-top DOBERMANN, and he has succeeded, but the film itself is somewhat disappointing. It has its moments, though. Some sequences are very strong visual storytelling. And I'm sure some people will be annoyed by it, but I actually enjoyed the ponderous pace of the film.

The film is in English and a rare Native American language, with a light sprinkling of French. Subtitling on the non-English parts (there are some fairly extended sequences in the Native American language) would've really helped, I think. Some of the CGI visuals in the peyote trip sequences are beautiful and genuinely disturbing. In general, the parts where Blueberry is among the tribe are the most intriguing and seem to belong in a different film.

Perhaps this one gets better on a second viewing, or after a few hits on some psychotropic substances...

I've seen this at the Fantasia movie festival in Montreal. It's fairly slow-paced for a western, but then again this isn't just any western at all.

Nice, deep, trippy, beautiful movie. Incredible rendition of the shamanic/death/near-death experience, I was completely blown to bits and then carefully reconstructed numerous times. To me the movie made perfect sense, and I wasn't left with any questions regarding what went on or any part of the story, but I can understand how it could leave some people a bit confused and perplexed, to say the least. Leave your expectations at the door (or in another room if you are watching it on DVD) for an unforgettable experience!

One of the trippiest and strangest westerns since 'El Topo', but besides visual exploration, don't expect too much coherence in story telling. The film goes deeper and deeper into the spiritual territories, but at the end leaves the viewer dissatisfied as by the end all the visual treats are just an hollow experiments and nothing more. The computer generated meditation and hallucination scenes are there just to be there for visual purpose. Although empty and somewhat confusing, they don't feel like some foreign bodies thrown in as these scenes beautifully melt in with the overall flow of the movie. The cinematography sometimes feel restless with its constant camera pans and rotations. We are never allowed to rest our eyes on steady shot. But the restless camera is supported with good editing so it doesn't start to distract too much.

Unconventional western with unconventional hero and villain with unconventional motives. Not as deep and spiritual as it aspires to be, but nonetheless entertaining to watch mostly thanks to its great cast and lively cinematography. The film that is definitely meant for the big screen to get the full enjoyment out if it.

Magic hallucinographic camera work brings you to a place of meaning. Strange and piercing, beautifully realized, moment to moment intensity, much more than its constituent parts. There is a serene grittiness to the ritual of film watching in this movie and I'm only 10 minutes into it. Most visionary films are impersonal, devoted to generalities and archetypes. This film is personal, almost quirky, yet relevant in its native originality. We see situations that are reminiscent of some distant calling yet brought to an immediate unfolding of growth and the danger of independent growth. One might be entertained by this motion picture if self comparison can be called entertainment.

From an artistic perspective, this is a very original and interesting blend of genres. The story is somewhat generic, but the way it is traversed is very unique.

For those not tripping-balls at the time of viewing, such as myself, this movie really suffers from pacing issues as well as a complete lack of editing. Watching this is similar to having a conversation with someone who's high out of their mind; while some of what they say may have some interesting perspectives, they ramble on, completely fascinated by what they're experiencing, while you're often waiting for them to get to any sort of point. This movie does have a few interesting points, but it is not consistently interesting as to how it leads you to them.

This film needed a lot more time in the editing room to be available to the general viewer, but then again, maybe that wasn't the target audience.