A Flash of Green

I'm writing this review because I thought that no one else had and that would have been a shame. After reading raves on this site about movies which are, at best, popcorn-fare (`Space Cowboys'?!? . . . yeah, I saw it . . . the theater was air-conditioned . . . what the hell), it would be a shame if this little gem stayed neglected.

Victor Nunez apparently knows how to make only one kind of movie. Those who are familiar with his better-known titles, `Ruby in Paradise' and `Ulee's Gold', will know what I mean. Like those two fine films, `A Flash of Green' is what is often called a `personal' movie, set in Nunez' native rural Florida and populated with ordinary people in recognizable situations. This is a story, which unfolds slowly, allowing us to catch the rhythms or its character's lives, involving us in their concerns. When the Ed Harris character is forced to confront an ethical choice, we are concerned for him because, by that point in the film, we know him as if we, too, are resident in that small town.

Sound boring? It's not. Any good screenwriter knows there's nothing as interesting as real life. `A Flash of Green' is not a documentary. It has its artifice, in the best sense of the word, with evocative images and sounds and wonderful performances from top to bottom. But it is the atmosphere, the feeling that I've been somewhere and met the people who live there, that stays with me most about this film. I can't describe too much of the plot. I only saw it once almost 15 years ago. But this isn't, foremost, a plot-driven movie anyway. There are no startling twists, memorable bits, catch-phrases, special effects or `money shots'. Just fine actors, good writing and a director accomplished enough to make us feel as if his characters' world is ours, too.

`A Flash of Green' is sweet, sad and best of all, absorbing filmmaking. Take the time to make the trip.

The setting, the characters, the music - everything just oozes old South Florida in every minute of this gem of a film. Director/writer Victor Nunez's pace seems easy and slow, but it is charged with an energy that keeps growing and growing, and the effect is flat out scary real life. Ed Harris is marvelous as a reporter who refuses to stay trapped in slimy local developer/politician Richard Jordan's plans to become governor. Blair Brown is gorgeous and stalwart as the woman Harris loves who opposes Jordan's development plans, even as her fellow activists are coerced into dropping out, one by one. Harris, Brown and Jordan are at their peak here. Every performance in the film is dead on, and yes, local politics can be downright nasty.

I think I've read all the John D. MacDonald books. It's been years. I might even start reading them over again. Such a guilty pleasure. MacDonald's pre-politically correct philosophy really gives you the flavor of an era. I love this film adaptation. Richard Jordan makes the perfect MacDonald villain, Blair Brown the ideal MacDonald wholesome love interest. And Harris in the lead made me a lifelong fan. Some years back it was screened at our local Museum of Photographic Arts. The print wasn't in great shape then. I own an old grainy copy of Flash of Green on VHS but no longer have a VHS player. Please, somebody, let's get this fine film on Blue Ray/DVD. I'd love to watch it again. There's so much junk available on DVD that it breaks my heart to think of a really satisfying film moldering away somewhere.

I love this movie. It represents some of the very best work of Ed Harris, Blair Brown and Richard Jordan. Aside from that, the story is intelligently written, and intrinsically American. A cynical, bored reporter is hired by a friend and ambitious real estate speculator to publicly smear a group of conservationists who stand in the way of a big land deal. The drawback is, one of the group is a woman the reporter is in love with. He agrees in order to protect her. When things become violent, he confesses his sins, and goes public with his schemes, exposing the real estate swindle. He regains some measure of his pride, and takes a series of brutal beatings in the bargain. In the end his persistence is rewarded, in some measure. Few movies take the time to explore characters as deeply as this one, and offer heroes as complex and flawed, yet still redeemable. The movies moves slowly, at the pace of the Florida landscape it portrays, but it never flags. The characters are absorbing, and the conflicts between them are always intriguing. Victor Nunez's photgraphy and subtle emphasis on mood and insight make for a very moving and thought-provoking film experience. Don't miss it. And take your time watching it. This film isn't about action and plot. It's a lot closer to real life than we've come to expect in film.

For many years I treasured my 4:3 VHS copy of this film, assuming it had been photographed on 16mm on a very low budget. As it turns out this is not the case. Two years ago this film appeared on Netflix Instant in HD. It was available for about six weeks before disappearing without a trace. I watched it in full, stunned to see a gorgeously photographed 35mm film in crystal clear widescreen. One of the things you cannot appreciate when watching the VHS copy is the stellar art direction and costume design. The lush pastel colors, the swampy Florida locations, the 1950s cars, the grimy office interiors. It's all vividly presented. I wish the company or persons sitting on that HD copy would release it on bluray or put it back up somewhere for a while. This film is one of those lost 1980s films that deserves a wide release.