Deserto do Ouro

After watching the new and utterly disappointing Matrix and Resident Evil films, I was beginning to lose hope in the movie industry, when this movie came along and proved to me that there are still excellent directors out there who can take a simple idea and turn it into "gold". (pun intended)

I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. I have always liked survival movies, especially the ones which involve trying to survive in the desert. The movie does an excellent job by not providing any sort of back story. You have no idea where the main character is headed and why (he refers to his destination vagely as the compound), or what's going on in the world for that matter. It makes you think of a post apocalyptic world, a Mad Max kind of world, but never gives you any clear hint as to what's really going on. While a bit weird, that's completely ok with me, because it helps you focus on the main plot; i.e. Trying to survive in the desert, which was absolutely enjoyable.

The shots were all beautifully taken and the accompanying music added to the mood. The ending came as a big surprise. The only real complaint I have is that it ended abruptly, but I totally get why they did it; because they were focused on making a moral point, and you can't help but think about that moral point the entire time the movie is playing, because it's so in your face.

If you enjoy survival movies with the desert as their setting, you're in for a hell of a ride, but if you don't like such slow-paced movies, you're going to find this movie excruciatingly slow and boring, so know your likes and dislikes before watching this movie so as not to waste your time or crtiticize such an excellent movie unfairy just because you didn't know what you were going into and were not familiar with your likes and dislikes.

If you're looking for action, horror, romance, science-fiction or a fast-paced movie, look elsewhere, because that's not what you're going to get from this movie.

I hope you're not giving me thumbs down just because I immensely enjoyed this movie, because I clearly told you about what this movie entails, and hopefully, now you can make up your mind.

I'm a big fan of man alone in space kind of sci Fi movies and while this wasn't a sci Fi it definitely had the feel of one of those movies.

It's slow but I was kept interested the whole time and the suspense was present the entire movie with some space in between to let you breathe when appropriate.

I was very glad I watched it and will recommend it to my friends to watch. Good story. Great ending.

The world in the near future is in trouble. A man (Zac Efron) rides the rails like a hobo. He gets driven to a job at the gold dig site. Along the way, they stumble upon a giant gold rock, but they are unable to dig it out with their limited tools. The man is left guarding the rock as the driver heads off for some heavy equipment.

Zac is going solo for long segments of this movie. In a way, it's his Cast Away. He does a fine job as his character deteriorates. A few plot points do bug me. When he is left alone initially, I felt something is off with the plan. The Stranger felt too aggressive. I almost assumed that she's a hallucination. I don't know why he's so protective of her body. Let the dogs have it. Finally, there is the arrow. I would rather not have the arrow. It's more sweetly dark to let the man have his reward. All in all, this is a fine effort from Zac and it's an interesting little indie.

However, despite the excellent effort and story ,it, in my mind was unsatisfying.

The bleak decolourised washed out look is a bit of a cliche these days and made it visually bland, especially in the kind of landscapes it was filmed in. That was the intention I suppose, but The Good , the Bad and the Ugly desert scenes ( in colour) were far more effective in conveying mood and intensity.

Not a commercial movie and might only appeal to males, solitary, alienated desert freaks.

Just an opinion.

The acting and directing is top notch. Zac Efron holds the entire movie. You really believe what he's going through. The movie has sufficient twists and turns and event a twist in the end. Overall I didn't feel very satisfied with the ending and wanted more. I felt like "what was the point" after going through this whole ordeal with the main character.