The Claim (2000)

"They were like kings"

This is superior film making. The acting is excellent, the setting is meticulously authentic, the story is profound on a Biblical level. Michael Nyman's music is poignant. There is one scene when Milla Jovovich sings a song which alone makes the film worth watching. This is not Clint Eastwood, thank God. It doesn't have a gun fight for twenty minutes through the town with men getting shot and falling into the horses' water troughs. It is not burdened with the overbearing presence of a major star. It wouldn't have worked if there had been someone like that prancing around. If you want that kind of Hollywood Western which even Clint can't get away from still making, then look elsewhere. Go watch "The Unforgiven" again for that stuff. The two movies are very similar in setting, but wow what a difference. Comparing this to Hardy's work too is ridiculous. Why does anyone do that? What in the world does that achieve? This is a movie wholly of itself. Once it starts its ball rolling it has nothing to do with Hardy. American author Frank Norris might be a more fruitful comparison, if anyone, but this movie is a 21st Century production, not a work made before the turn of the 20th Century. Seem to be a lot of people who come to this movie with some kind of prejudice that they then rate it by. Just sit back and watch it and digest it without the large Coke and pre-buttered popcorn. Some may not have the patience for this film. I feel sorry for them. They're missing quality at work which doesn't have an eye on the box office receipts--one of the rare films. This is a movie for the attentive viewer who can read the depth of the story being told--a strong story with personal and historical significance. Think "Oedipus" maybe. This is probably the "truest" "Western" I've ever seen. Five Stars. July 15, 2008

Brrrrrrrrr!

Brings a new meaning to a 'chilling' tale.

Quite the mixed opinions here. I don't think I've ever seen a review with marks all over the scale like this before. Yeah, the relocation of a fully furnished 2-story home through a mountainside befuddled me also. With that aside, my wife and I thought this was an okay movie.

***1/2
November 14, 2007

A STORY OF PIONEERS

A real discovery. A western set in the snowy town of Kingdom Come in the Sierra Nevada. Indispensable. October 6, 2007

Needs subtitles

I got this DVD because of the great reviewers comments on the cover. My problem was that I could not understand what many of the actors were saying. There were no English subtitles available so I tried French, which I do read a little. This kept me so busy, translating, though, that I gave up after about 40 minutes.

I think that if it had looked more interesting I might have kept at it, but it didn't. The director was going for "bleak" it seems and he got it. Sarah Polley who seemed to be a lead actor in the beginning was so pale and her voice was so blah that I had a hard time watching her. The young male lead was equally uninteresting. The older man (Peter Mullan?) and Mila Jovavich were much livelier, but it still wasn't enough for me. The scenery was beautiful, but as another reviewer wrote, you could get that in The National Geographic. When a particularly spectacular snowy scene was shown, the music amped up as if to tell you that this was really a spectacular scene! The scenes in the bar and brothel were repetitions of many other Old West films. All of this was done sooo much better in McCabe and Mrs. Miler!

The plot sounds interesting which makes sense since it's based on a novel by Thomas Hardy. Maybe if your hearing is better than mine or if you can lipread, read Spanish or French subtitles, you'll enjoy it. Maybe not. July 29, 2007

Nice idea, terrible execution...

I had at least decent hopes for this film considering Milla Jovovich is in it. I love her albums and her singing in this movie is wonderful. Unfortunately her performance can't even help the lackluster performances of the other actors and the lack of atmosphere in the movie. This was a great idea but just so poorly executed. I was so bored I couldn't even finish watching it. The plot has some interesting twists and turns and I think that had there been some changes in the cast and the director this could have been a great film. July 1, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...