Kindar, l'invulnerabile

As foretold by the prophets there would one day arise a man who was born of lightning and would be invincible. And that's who Mark Forest plays in Kindar The Invulnerable.

Someone must have been reading Superman comics and decided to create a Superman like character for their sword and sandal film. Forest is impervious to all, swords, spears, rocks. There is something in the prophecy also about a red flower being his Kryptonite, but no one can figure that one out.

This was the last film made by Mark Forest aka Lou Degni of Brooklyn who went to Italy to study opera and paid his way through the lessons by doing these muscle films. He was the best looking of all the muscle dudes who were glutting the market with these epics in the early Sixties. I sincerely hope he had a good career in opera to make up for some of these films. He certainly had a focus.

Mark is hit at his birth by a bolt of lightning which kills his mother but makes him almost invulnerable: Only the "Red Flower" can harm him, though nobody knows what it is. Unfortunately, he is soon thereafter kidnaped and made the chief warrior of a desert bandit tribe led by Mimmo Palmara, which tries to sack Mark's city of birth. Two great scenes: Mark, without knowing it, has to fight his own brother in a whipping and wrestling duel in the mountains. And: Mark lets himself be put into an iron maiden to prove that he cannot be harmed; he steps out of it and simply states, "I am invulnerable." Extra wooden acting during love scenes (even in comparison to other products of Italian popular cinema of this time)!! Low production costs, partially boring. Recommended for fans of Mark Forest or Italian trash cinema only. Almost the bottom of the barrel. Rosalba Neri has only a very small part to play, which is a pity.

Mark Forest is Kindar this time. At least he's not named Hercules/Maciste or one of the many other strongman names this time. The character is basically the exact same as all of his other roles - a musclebound dude, star of the picture that kicks butt on screen while trying to flex all his muscles for the viewers. But this time he's in an Arabic flavored setting but still showing off his pecks. Oh he has magical powers this time.

Same routine stuff: our "hero" has a love interest, there is an evil bandit (sometimes a evil King or Queen), he has to save the day and battles happen. He kisses the girl. The End.

1/10

So this at least has some resemblance of a different story. And baby stabbing ... don't worry, he's invincible. The baby that is - also they didn't use real swords (or did they? No they didn't!). So yes there is some resemblence of a story here and it is kind of fun to watch.

Other than that, you get the usual Sword and Sandals mix and goodies you'd expect to get. So many movies, this does not stand out especially. Neither in good or bad terms. It's ok, though I hope if you get to watch it, you get a better copy than the one I had to watch

Mark Forest stars as KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE.

As a newborn, Kindar is the fulfillment of a prophesy that tells of an indestructible savior of his people.

Oh no!

Baby Kindar is abducted! This is very disturbing, since everyone involved wants to test infant Kindar's invulnerability by trying to plunge a dagger into him! Bad parenting all around!

Fast-forward to the chuckling adult Kindar, still wearing some sort of diaper, stomping and smashing people for fun and relaxation. Raised by desert marauders, Kindar believes he's the son of their leader, Seymuth (Mimmo Palmara).

Soon, romance blooms between Big K and a captive princess. This makes Seymuth's woman, Kira (Rosalba Neri) jealous, since she's had her eye on him herself. Now, she's up to no good!

Then, Kindar must face his equally huge brother in a fight to the death! The sand really flies when these two crash and bang into each other like a pair of enchanted oak trees!

QUESTIONS: #1- Will Kindar discover his true identity before helping to destroy his own homeland? #2- Can he possibly withstand Kira's aggressive advances? #3- Will he ever tire of cracking people's heads together?

A late entry in the genre, it still manages to be fun and worth a viewing. Forest is his usual, lumbering self, breaking bones and taking names!...