The Brave

I had read an article in a waiting room Entertainment Weekly while getting a punctured tire repaired, an article about unreleased (or little-released) films and albums by big-name directors and artists. An internet search indicates this was "Buried Treasure" by Tim Carvell in issue # 795, December 3, 2004. One of them was this film, unreleased in the US, but available on DVD in the UK. Happily I own a region-free player that does PAL-NTSC conversion (I wish they would abolish regional encoding!), and the DVD on the UK Amazon site was relatively cheap, so I ordered it.

I'm surprised to see that the author of the novel this film was adapted from was the author of the Fletch series! This is entirely different.

Johnny Depp plays a native American living with his wife, son, and daughter in a small trailer in a shantytown next to a garbage dump in the desert. Days seem to be spent mostly sleeping. He goes to town to apply for a job a man in a bar told him about. He goes to a pretty shady place, and we learn what the job is (reading the DVD box would tell you the same thing): to be tortured and killed (presumably on film) for $50,000. He's given some money up front (at least a couple thousand, not sure how much), and a week before he has to come back to do the job. Evidently in the book he's only offered $30,000 and given $200 up front!

He goes back home, and doesn't do much initially, but then tries bonding more with his family, who he'd grown apart from while drinking. He spends the money on things that delight his kids, but seem pretty frivolous. His wife is worried he's robbed a store or done something else that will get him put in jail again. He hopes the money will help his family move up in life, and it comes at an opportune time, since the shantytown is due to be demolished.

It's a bit longer than I think it need be, about two hours. However, it is well directed. I think Johnny Depp did a good job with it.

Marlon Brando's role is pretty small. He'd worked with Depp before in Don Juan DeMarco (1995), quite a different movie than this one! Iggy Pop, who worked on the soundtrack has a short cameo as a man at a fiesta eating a giant drumstick.

Brave, The (1997)

* (out of 4)

Johnny Depp's directorial debut is a film I've been dying to see since I first heard about it back around 1996. In the film Depp plays an American Indian who can't get a job due to being a drunk and this doesn't leave much of a future for his wife and two children. Somehow he is introduced to a man (Marlon Brando) who offers his $50,000 to be tortured and killed in a snuff film. With no other future in site the man takes the job. There's been all sorts of reasons why this film was never released in America. I've heard stories of Depp being mad at American critics who trashed the film in Cannes and I've heard the storyline was just too depressing for release here. I think the real reason is that the film is simply a piece of junk. Since Depp was director, star and co-writer he certainly has to take the majority of the blame. The film has a terrific storyline but he doesn't do a thing with it and in the end the film is simply a mess. Everyone delivers their lines at such a slow and drawn out way that had they sped it up just 1% then I'm sure the film would have lost an hour of its running time. The performances are also dull and that includes Brando. I might sound like George here but this film has gotten a lot of great reviews from fans but to me it sounds like people love this film just because it has a foreign, non-Hollywood feel to it. Add in the fact that he didn't get released and they seem to be hailing this as some sort of masterpiece that "normal folks" can't "get". I think Depp is an incredibly talented guy but you wouldn't know it by watching this film.

When this came on Tasmanian television, (oh yes) I did have some misgivings about staying up late to watch it. Then the "directed by Johnny Depp" came on and I thought....boy if Brando wasn't in this I am off to bed. But I sat up, watched it, and it one of those films that stays with you. The horror and the torture come later, and it is awful to think of this brave young man subjecting himself to these monsters, but that is the lure of the story I guess. Perfect casting by Depp, cant argue with the direction or the story. It's bleak but somehow beautiful at the same time. Yes it shows the best and worst of humanity. Not something to watch with the family on a movie night, but it does deserve an audience...you will not enjoy it but you will remember it.

I regret that this movie was never released in the U.S.; I had to buy a Korean release to get to see it. But, it was SO worth it! The movie is very moving - a great work by Johnny Depp. Those of us who have always appreciated Johnny for his unique vision on the world as brought to life in so many of his characters will revel in Rafael. The work as Director is superb, especially as a first effort. The score and cinematography are sublime....this is one of those that got away...and was (sadly) missed by many. But, as Johnny said in the special features interview, whether the movie is well-received or not well-received, it is totally "his movie, and no one can take that away from him." Bravo! Well-done, Johnny!

I expected this movie to be a real "stinker" based on comments I had seen. But I was pleasantly surprised to see how good a movie it is. It is a powerful story about desperate people and should have received more attention and respect than it did. The movie could use some work in places, but it deserves to be released.