O Fantástico Mundo de Blaze

An introverted, imaginative girl on the cusp of womanhood experiences a life-alteringly awful event and the film follows her path to healing as she simulataneously crashes through the safe cocooon of her childhood into the adolescent reality of an imperfect, unjust world. Boldly envisioned by leading Australian Artist Del Kathryn Barton, this dark, beautiful and powerful film from acclaimed producers Causeway Films - (The Babadook, Talk to Me) packs a massive cathartic punch if you immerse yourself in the emotional journey of its central character. Breathtaking visuals, superlative sound design, a killer soundtrack, strong performances all round and an oscar-worthy bravura turn from the then barely 13 year old young Australian actress Julia Savage make for a profoundly affecting viewing experience.

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 is not a movie for everyone. And I'm still not sure if it was for me. The movie is about trauma and how people cope with it. But unlike what you would come to expect from a movie about such heavy topics, it puts a uniquely interesting spin on it with its gorgeous visual language and its dream-like vignettes.

The movie starts strong. The first act of the movie; where we are introduced to the conflict is excellently done. Actors Julia Savage and Simon Baker put up brilliant performances to communicate the movie's emotions the way the filmmaker would have wanted for it to be. There's so much subtelty to it that it had me excited for what's to come.

Unfortunately its novelty fades and the movie seemed to have exhausted itself the more it went on, in my opinion. It just never capitalized on it's excellent start and becomes a little too indulgent and a little too aimless. And by then end, you're left with the feeling that Blaze had the potential to be so much more.

All that aside, I still appreciate this movie for what it tries to do. It's definitely a unique and colorful cinematic experience and one that could inspire new avenues of storytelling.

This film was potentially an interesting premise; unfortunately, there are too many flaws in the production to produce a Blaze. The film is more of a toaster-oven. The gradual psychological recovery of a young girl who witnesses a violent act probably takes place thousands of times a year in the US, so there is really nothing unique here. An examination of the adults and their characters might have been helpful, but those are missing from the film. The performance of the young girl playing Blaze is fine, and I am sure she has a future in film. The same cannot be said for the writers of the film, however.

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.