Desert Bloom

This film story initially appeared to be a more or less typical coming of age story of a teenage girl, set in the '50's at the height of the atomic bomb testing age in the desert southwest, but ended up being a sad and multi-faceted story of unrealized potential, chronic physical pain, alcoholism, paranoia, abuse, spousal enabling, ruined family potential, and of a daughter's loss of love and trust in her father due to the results of his very human and typical response to great pain....self medication by alcohol. That, plus another very typical male response by her father to excessive temptation by his wife's sister who, without a care for the family unit, threw her many sexual charms at her drunk brother in law. Weak as he was in all ways he still responded, to great familial damage. Just too many human flaws and life burdens for any family to survive intact, and this one was no exception.

There are some outstanding acting performances in history that I think have gone outrageously unrewarded by Oscar. A few are the 1956 portrayal of Vincent van Gogh by Kirk Douglas in Lust For Life, Karen Black in Five Easy Pieces, Kevin Kline in Sophie's Choice, Tim Roth in Rob Roy, and Jon Voight in this film. When Voight was on screen, I could not see anyone else. That defines acting greatness, and was the case with the other performances stated. And, I find it very interesting that 4 of these 5 roles demonstrated an obvious form and level of mental illness. Maybe all of them did. Interesting point.

If you have ever known anyone who was forced to live with great chronic pain you may better understand the quality of Voight's performance, his very obvious pain resulting from severe WWII wounds that he knew would dog him mean every day of his tortured life. I knew someone with that great pain, and Voight's performance was so spot on I could not believe that someone without that pain could portray it so realistically.

You want to see truly great acting? Do yourself a favor and see Jon Voight in this film and get the rest of the well made story as a bonus.

Very underrated 1950's story, basically about a messed up family. But boy oh boy are they messed up. Featuring outstanding performances by Ellen Barkin and Jon Voight, and nearly stolen by newcomer Annabeth Gish, this is a haunting provocative story of a family in crisis, just as the nation was in crisis. Beautifully done.

Desert Bloom (1986), not to be confused with Desert Hearts released in the U.S. the same year, stars Annabeth Gish as an adolescent girl with new eyeglasses and spelling bee skills. The film opens in Las Vegas in December 1950. Gish's stepfather, played by Jon Voight, is a World War II veteran who has a gas station, the last fill-up opportunity on the edge of town before the highway enters the Nevada desert. On his better days, he has a yen for self-education, brain teasers, and the news and intellectual discourse of the world. On his worse days, he has combat flashbacks, leading to excessive drinking and flares of temper. Gish's mother, played by JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), is full of life-guidance aphorisms, but has a flaw herself in the form of an apparent past of occasional compulsive gambling. There are two little sisters, plus a glamour-queen aunt, played by Ellen Barkin (The Diner; The Big Easy), who comes to live with the family. The other significant roles are Allen Garfield (The Candidate; The Conversation) as a family friend, I think the father of one of Gish's female classmates, and Jay Underwood, an adolescent male. The movie plot basically plays out some of the discord at which the above hints.

This movie is fifties Americana, almost as if one had entered a time machine back into that decade. Voight is at a career peak that carried over from his Oscar-nomination performance the preceding year in Runaway Train (1985). Williams magnifies what already is a strong supporting performance with the singing talents we discover in a scene at the piano (making the assumption it's really her voice). Garfield is subtly good, as usual. I respectfully disagree with Desert Bloom's lack of critical acclaim and low IMDb viewer ratings.

Intensely emotional, so much so, that it's hard to watch in places. Jon Voight's performance of a WWII veteran tortured and twisted mentally by his war experiences is intimidating, even volatile.

The story is set in the '50's, at a time when the U.S. is testing nuclear weapons at a base north of Las Vegas. Jack Chismore (Voight), the veteran, and his family live in the Nevada desert near Las Vegas. There are parallel stories, weaving the news of the nuclear technology around the conflicts of Chismore's mental cruelty and abusive behavior to his family; in particular, his coming-of-age daughter Rose (Annabeth Gish). Gish is sensational in this role; she holds her own in verbal sparring with the always skillful Jon Voight. You really feel her frustration, and love to hate Chismore. The latter, though, slowly becomes more sympathetic as you understand his suffering more.

Coming-of-age stories have a few standard plot lines, but they're handled tenderly and resist exploitation here. Rose has a boy friend, and she's learning the facts of not only her own personal life, but the ugly and frightening facts of the world simultaneously.

The final image is riveting; in a single shot, the twin points of loss of innocence--Rose's, as well the world's--are melded together brilliantly with a single camera shot. A fine movie with a powerful theme.

12/5/17. This is a well-done movie of how a young teen (Gish) learns about life while being part of a dysfunctional family. Gish portrays a somewhat nerdy girl trying to make sense of who she is while dealing with an alcoholic stepfather (Voight) who physically abuses her and puts the moves on her glamorous aunt who comes to live with them as she goes through a divorce. When her somewhat neglectful mother discovers this and throws out her sister, Gish's character is forced to make decisions no young teen should have to make. Definitely catch this one!