STMedia Reviews

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

The more recent negative reviews of this film could serve as a case study of the rapid politicization of our culture.

[9/10 · 27 August 2022]

It's interesting to look through the negative reviews of The Man Who Would Be King. Those submitted twenty years ago reflect the range of subjective response you might expect from any film. Move forward to those submitted in the last few years and a common theme arises. The film is "unwatchable" because it portrays people in a colonial era with a colonial perspective. Somehow it's assumed that the writer casting forth this judgement somehow from birth knew all that is right and just and can, without a shred of arrogance or hypocrisy, see clearly the sins of the past and guide the rest of us as to what is correct and incorrect for us to allow our weak eyes and ears to take in or avoid so that we can also live a similarly enlightened life.

Someday I hope those who so arrogantly seek to cancel or at least condemn any film from an earlier era that did not by some miracle anticipate what would be politically correct in 2022 will gain some humility. Hopefully they will then finally come to recognize that they too suffer from the flawed human condition and are blind to what the next generation will someday condemn them for.

If you want to see how great filmmaking was done before digital technology made it easy to create any setting, this is a great film to watch. If you want to see how people viewed the world in the colonial era - and - of you want to understand how those who lived through the Great Depression and WWII sought to portray the colonial era, this is a great film to watch. It's also a well told story if you have the ability to follow a story that unfolds slowly and doesn't flash from one action scene to another.

However, if you are like those who led the cultural revolution in China and believe that history must be eradicated or revised, I guess this is one of the cultural artifacts that must be destroyed. If that's you, I'll save you the time. You can add this to your censor list.

Longmire (2012–2017)

An excellent series

[10/10 · 26 April 2021]

Longmire is a modern take on the western. Its refreshing to watch a series with interesting characters and compelling stories that isn't saturated with preachy messages.

All the Real Girls (2003)

I was really pulling for this film...

[1/10 · 11 July 2011]

I saw this film when it was released in Asheville NC.

Asheville, of course is the hometown of Paul Schneider, who plays the lead and co-wrote the screenplay. Asheville is also listed as the filming location, though that's not entirely true. The majority of the outdoor scenes were filmed in the small town of Marshall, which is about 30 minutes outside Asheville.

As a resident of the area, I was certainly pulling for the film, as were many others. Asheville is an unusually sophisticated town when it comes to the arts. For instance, with a population of just under 70,000, it has a symphony, an opera company, and even a professional (equity) theater company. The little town is bursting at the seams with extremely talented creative people so I had every reason to expect great things from this film. Unfortunately, I could not have been more disappointed.

If you approach this film assuming that it is an independent work of genius, (as some here have described it) It's possible that when you arrive at the end of the film you could continue to believe that, since the power of artistic suggestion can be strong. However, if you take it at face value, chances are you'll arrive at the end of the film wondering how the film has gotten as far as it has. There is certainly nothing "real" about the characters or the relationships. Spend some time here in Appalachia. You don't have to have been born here to figure out that the people portrayed in this film don't exist.

I don't need a film to have a clearly discernible plot, and I'm quite happy for it to move slowly, but this film doesn't really have anything to offer. Story? There isn't one that is compelling or believable. Characters? Zooey Deschanel (who has become a truly great actress) is far more interesting in interviews ABOUT the film than her character is IN it, and she's the only character I could muster any interest in.

Honestly, the film comes off as the kind of thing a group of not particularly gifted high school kids might come up with given the time and help of a good cinematographer.

I'm truly baffled at the positive reviews. Consider the overall score and the box office. It was a financial flop, despite fairly wide international distribution, the kiss of Sundance and a tiny 2.5mil budget.

If you want to see a film that has "real" characters that truly reflects rural people, see Winter's Bone. In fact, if you gave this film a positive review, go see Winter's Bone, watch this one again and then re-write your review.