5th World (2005) User Reviews

I saw this film and wished I had not

[dell-13 · 1/10 · 19 April 2005]

I agree with SAS. This movie was terrible. I cannot believe it was even considered for the festival never mind shown. I guess I was most frustrated when the same shot of the sky and clouds was shown for the 5th time and instead I could have been out looking at the real sky from the slopes of Deer Valley. The director is probably a talented individual and I understand he made the movie for less than $300; however, those two items did not make for a good film. Sundance should be very ashamed that it showcased this film. Regardless of the ethnic content and alleged symbolism - if the true meaning of the film is that hidden, I contend that there was no meaning.

Great (for New Wave fans)

[barna65 · 10/10 · 12 September 2005]

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the French New Wave. The film begins with the two characters listening to an interview with Godard (I think) and the movie is clearly influenced by his work, particularly VIVRE SA VIE, with its focus on the beauty of the female lead. The movie is slow paced (and with low-fi production values), but it wonderfully captures the sense of atmosphere, space and the slowness of time that seem to be an essential aspect of the story. This movie is certainly not for everyone (and it is not flawless), but I would number it among the most affecting and powerful movies that I have seen in the last 5 years.

Blackhorse Lowe Genius or ????

[wvd63 · 4/10 · 12 April 2005]

Saw the 5th World over at the Phoenix Film Festival. The local newspaper trashed the film. Wanted to see and make my own opinion. Thought the acting could have been better. I actually thought the Aunt & Uncle dialog was great, would have liked to see more close ups. The narration on the film at the beginning I trouble with. You don't know who is taking and I had a hard time trying to make a connection. The best part was seeing Ernie & June performing. Would have loved to see a real love scene. The scenery was beautiful no doubt about it. I thought the actors did not do a good job getting the emotion out. Their there to tell a story. Don't think the director got the best out of the 2 main actors. The ending or conflict was great, loved that a lot, but the middle of the film was boring. I think the director has objectives & goals, we either got it or didn't get it. Well, I kind of got it, but it could be better. But I do hope Blackhorse keeps making films and does not give up. I will keep seeing Native American productions!

Masterful and moving!!

[vagrantfilms · 10/10 · 22 October 2005]

5th World may just be the best American Indie to come along in the last 5 years. Nods to Tarkovsky, Bela Tarr, Maya Deren and, of course, Cassavettes, are evident in this devastatingly beautiful love story, which deserves to be seen by a wide audience of sophisticated cinephiles. Not everyone will fall in Love with this film, nor appreciate all of its magic. Blackhorse Lowe is as exciting a new voice as Apichatpong Weeresthakul, and hopefully will continue to create more challenging, provocative features. The Performances are also something magical, the improvisational dialogue is pitch perfect, and the visual palette is lush and soothing. BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!

The Worst Movie I've seen at Sundance!

[mhoke22 · 1/10 · 26 January 2005]

I honestly don't know how this movie made it into the Sundance Film Festival. The only possible reason this movie could have made it into the Sundance Film Festival, is to meet some kind of ethnic quota. The idea behind the film is a solid one, but the film fails to capture the intended effect due to the lack of plot, lack of narrative direction, lack of character development, and more than anything, Amateur film technique. In closing, I will say this: If "5th World" represents the low end of the quality scale for Sundance Film acceptance, then I no longer worry about competition. Hopefully I won't be "this" disappointed with any more films at the festival this year.

Viewed at the Native Cinema Festival in Gallup, NM, April 2, 2005.

[sivilcavage · 3 April 2005]

I do agree to an extent with some of the harsher critics of this film that it was very amateur in fact a little self-indulgent. However I have a different perspective. I know that some of the people that were involved in its making weren't at all serious about the film making it to Sundance so yes, I too, Indian as the director, stars, etc. think there's something fishy about their film selections. I'd be careful before saying things about quotas or affirmative action however. To be fair, if I saw a film made by a director of another ethnicity I wouldn't prejudge all other filmmakers of the same ethnicity (good call by the user that brought up "The Brown Bunny"), just that filmmaker alone.

Of course, it's easier to prejudge than to get all the facts and make a more sincere effort.

Anyway, here's my review of the film that I culled from my blog.

5th World - Larry Blackhorse Lowe The only feature-length fiction entry in the festival. This one got some attention previously when it was showcased (not entered in competition) at this year's Sundance film festival. It's a mix of coming-of-age story, love story, documentary, and road movie. Its basically the story of two young lovers that are hitchhiking across the Navajo Nation and who are examining life and love together through laughter, stories, and a sheep butchering. Yes, there is a lengthy sequence involving a sheep being butchered. While I wasn't particularly impressed with the shock tactics there is an interesting plot twist (which I won't give away) that saves the film as well as a few parts that managed to elicit a few laughs for those "real johns" in the audience. The comedy duo "James and Ernie" make a cameo as well. While i liked the photography, the pacing of the road trip sequences, and the idea of fiction inspired by fact (the film was inspired by the director's aunt and uncle's story of how they first met and began courting) there were some flaws that I couldn't pull my attention from. The use of profanity seemed gratuitous and unnecessary (the guy calling the girl "a dirty b***h" and the girl calling the guy a "f***er" and "fa**ot" became pointless, regardless of how "real" the director wanted to keep the characters, same problem I had with Chris Eyre's "Skins"), the tie between the story of the aunt and uncle sort of led nowhere and really ultimately served the purpose of showing "that is how it was and this is how it is" in a simplistic manner, and lastly the plot twist is really the only redeeming feature (not even going to give you a hint!) when the story seems to be going nowhere. All the same, it manages to illustrate the importance of community and social values as well as a respect and concern for ones ancestral ties and traditional foundations. Obviously, this film will not be accessible by all and that too I think is a flaw.

Waste of my time

[reedcody · 1/10 · 2 April 2009]

The 5th World is probably the worst film I have seen in quite some time. If the purpose of the film was to bridge the gap between Native peoples and the American culture it failed on every level. The acting was worse than films I have seen in introductory film production classes and the writing/directing/editing by Blackhorse Lowe was less than appalling creating a resentment to the atrocity committed to film and making the viewer forget if it is even meant to have a point. Lack of plot and horrible sound made trying to follow the dialogue a task and when you turn up the sound in order to understand what is being said you eventually lose your hearing during the scenes where sound is blasted entirely too loud and the word "FUCK" is written in white lettering on a black screen. If anything was accomplished by this film it was making people think that the Navajo people are lacking in the advancement of film making and fall short in creative arts in the same industry.