Blaze

It's like French people on drugs made a movie. Good quality. Good acting. Poor script.

It's one of those films that you keep hoping will get better, but it never does.

It's one of those films where you want to cheer for the main character, but she's so screwed up in the head that there's never much to cheer for.

How would I describe this movie?

Dull, boring, with an ending that was equally dull and boring.

Mental illness is sad. Pretty sure most people understand that point. I don't think most people need, or want it smashed into their face the way this movie does it.

Rape, and murder are both disturbing, and bad - most people understand that too ; however this film could have been done better.

I didn't pay enough attention to the warnings about this film before watching and just skimmed the description about it being a fantasy story about a girl and her dragon and watched based on that. Do NOT make the same mistake I made! There are so many things in this film that could trigger trauma in people who are not prepared for the subject matter involving domestic violence, the jumpy flashing light & music scenes, simulated violence included fake blood & other bodily fluids and the mental health of the children in the cast for starters.

The idea is creatively brought to the screen through colorful and very creative costumes, makeup and stop action photography but the plot totally misses the mark on providing a satisfying journey for the person watching. I would label this as more of an "Art Film" than a serious endeavor and the very artsy folks will probably love it but it was definitely not for me.

The premise is one of how you interpret the visualization. To state too much of what it is about starts off the film and would be spoilers, so let's leave it at a young teen girl that stumbles upon a very traumatic situation that she isn't fully capable of understanding and how she compartmentalizes this event. The director uses surreal art quality scenes to show there was earlier trauma within the family dynamic that brought along her ability to deal with things by letting her mind go to an "otherwordly" head space. These scenes of where she takes her mind might not be for every viewer ability to grasp but that's what makes this unique. Reminiscent of another film from a couple of years ago, "I Kill Giants" which I also enjoyed because it showed another angle, grief from losing a mother ro cancer and how it was also dealt with internally, through the eyes and mind of a young girl.

That's also where the similarities end, as this not only deals with much heavier adult themes, it touches on how vulnerable a developing mind is, and how trauma can damage it, yes, even when A child loses a patent by divorce. Instead of the usual tropes to unpack these weighty psychological issues, this film goes for not so subtle visuals to show the trauma within and literally how she "slays" that metaphorical dragon that holds her back during the most challenging part of her ordeal.

Great acting. Solid script. Amazing visual content. Very memorable film, though yes, there is rough scene, that's some have alluded to and if you feel uncomfortable during this opening scene, than it did the film and writer justice ad it was handled in its rarest and brutal form without exploitation, but showing you why this sequence was as damaging as it should be for a child to witness.

When I had first watched this movie, I was immediately moved by it. The visuals are arresting and the performances, especially by the lead (a child actress nonetheless) are top tier. It easily sky rocketed to my top favorite films of all time, without question.

About 4 months after discovering this film, an incident occurred to me that I reported to the police. This incident left me with severe emotional trauma and nightmares. The healing process regarding that event has taken me a long while to get over it but I'm slowly improving. I'm rewatching this movie tonight and it's painful and scary just how accurate the depiction of PTSD and guilt is. This is an astoundingly beautiful film that should be seen by art aficionados and healing minds alike.

Blaze could have been so great. The concept sounds fantastic and Savage is doing a great job as the main. Most of the coming of age parts are actually really well done and the movie portrays the process of trauma management in a way that feels relatable.

However, the main hook of the movie is poorly executed. There is a huge disconnect between the style of the over the top candy colored visions of Blaze and the emotional minefield that its main characters navigate through.

Furthermore, these scenes are a one trick pony. Every single one of them blasts you with melodramatic pop songs with lyrics that are right in your face, there is no subtlety. There is no space to ponder about the meaning of what you're seeing because it screams it right at you. And quite frankly, it's annoying.

The moment I realized that each of these scenes will be like this was the most heart breaking moment of the movie. I don't say that to mock the people involved, I actually mean it. Because there is a ton of potential here, if these scenes were handled better this movie could have been one of this years best. But sadly it just screams: "look how childish, colorful, fantastic yet sad I am! Look at me! Look at me!" And boy, did that get on my nerves at some point.

Also, I don't think the make up and costumes are all that great in these scenes. The movie looks a bit cheesy and the dragon itself doesn't work as a character due to its design. It isn't emotional expressive which makes the movie fall apart in some scenes where it feels like Blaze had to actually say what the dragon is feeling.

These scenes rarely add something significant to the story. Some are outright pathetic (especially the ones near the end of the movie). And they felt out of place. Like they were tacked on as an afterthought.

In the end, this might have been the best time I had with such a flawed movie in a long time but it was so cringe inducing at times I couldn't fully enjoy the main story.

If you are more open minded about flashiness or if you don't feel the cringe with melodramatic contemporary songs featuring a howling singer than you might enjoy this movie way more than I did. But I don't think this was good enough to get a recommendation from me.

(Saw this at the Slash Filmfestival, Vienna)