The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

The first impression i got out this movie, was that the Poster was misleading, you see Josey Wales screaming on the poster, while the movie is a meditational revisionist western, the second impression is that this movie is every bit as good as "Dances with Wolves" in it's respect and admiration of the native American culture and suffering.

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) is a peaceful Missouri farmer during the times of the American Civil War, he sees his family murdred and his farm burnt to the ground by some Pro Union Militia, the "RedLegs" lead by a man named Terill, Josey seeks revenge, and being a good marksman, he joins a band of Pro-Condfederate Militia, where he learns the trades of gunmanship, but at the end of the war, his side obviously being the loser, they are offred a total amnesty by the Union army, and a power thirsty senator.

Josey is the only one who refuses, thus making him the witness of the betrayal and the mass murder of his past partners, by the hands or the RedLegs who became officers in the union army Terill becoming "Captain Terril", Josey immidiatly avenges them, thus becoming "the outlaw" in the title of the movie.

Being a fugitive now, he has to move constantly and during this journey he meets Lone Watie (Chief Dan George), a wise indian chief who tells him how the US government betrayed his people with false promises, leading to the lose of his family, this common factor being the one leading to the two men's frindship, an indian woman he saves from raping, and a Yankee woman and her daughter, while they travel towards a new frontier and a new life surrounded by Comancheros (mexican bandisos), Apaches, and the Union army itself.

This movie has it's required amount of gun battles, and has a revenge spaghetti western like plot, but it's more then that, it's a meditation of a fragile and ephemeral time in the US where the country was changing, leading to immense tragedies, a time where any outlaw was home in the wild west, and where the gun was the law (wait a minute, it hasn't changed much in America, they even exported it)

Josey Wales is a quiet observer, who intervenes on the right time, he doesn't speak much, but when he does, he usually says the right thing, and his dialogue with the Apache leader, and with Chief Watie is full of understanding and wisdom, his motives are pure, he seeks revenge, justice, and then he just minds his own business, he is a typical anti-hero.

This movie was a success, both critically and commercially, it ran for the Golden Palm and was presented in Cannes, Eastwood proves that he has been a very good student of Sergio Leone, but with a personal touch you can't miss, and when you see this, you can guess that a masterpiece is not far away in his career, and it happned a decade and a half later with his Western Swan song, the marvelous "unforgiven".

So even for those who dont like Clint much, this movie is really worth watching, it's not glorifying the Union army, and even it's final showdown, ends in a very unsusual fashion, a japanese one rather then an American, that says also that "Yojimbo" and the Kurusawa influence was not far neither, but let's all remember that Mr Kurusawa is the one who inspired both Sergio Leone Dollar Trilogy, and "Star Wars", frankly nothing is original, but if you steal, steal from the best, and add a personal touch.