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.

Gran Torino

Short review

After his wife's death Walt is looking for a new target in life. His family left him alone, his grandkids just want his money and lately some Asians moved into the house next to his. He can't stand the world anymore.

But then by mistake he rescues the life of one of his neighbors when he wants to scare some gang members off his loan. The neighbors appreciate it and fit him into her community. And Walt finds a new chance to change - which is to make the shy boy Thao a tough guy with a job and some self esteem.

But Walt doesn't have a clue what he's doing when he pisses on the legs of the gang members he scared off earlier and he also is struggeling with cancer that is killing him faster than he thought.

I was sceptical watching "Gran Torino" but it turned out a really good movie in the end. A bit funny, a bit drama and a story that could be kinda taken outta daily life. And Clint Eastwood - well you gotta like him somehow to like his movies. I don't but I give him alot of credit for this one!

Mystic River: Clint's Irish Epic

Somebody says Clint Eastwood, and the majority of people think either of the spaghetti western "man with no name" he played for sergio leone, or the macho detective "Dirty Harry" he played for don siegel, but it's not that clint we are talking about know, it's the other Clint the masterful director.

Mystic River is about a lot of themes, but it starts with a frightening one, Child Abuse, little Sean, Jimmy and Dave, are playing hokey on the street, then they find a square of cement pavement which is still undry, and decide to write their names on it, but as Dave is writing his name, they are scolded by what apparently are two police officers, who then show them some police ID and take dave with them in the back of their car.

Turns out these two are pedophiles, and they take little Dave to the basement of a house, where they rape him, at the end he manages to escape, then the movie shifts to nowadays Boston, nobody has moved, Dave (Tim Robbins) is a past possessed blue colar worker, struggling to rise the child he has with Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a detective in the local police, and Jimmy (the great Sean Penn) is an ex con running a local business, and has a daughter Katie, who is secretly dating a man he despises.

Katie is savagely killed, and while Sean and his partner take care of the case, the grief ridden Jimmy investigates from his side using his connections in the Area, turns out that Dave is involved in a suspicious accident the night of the murder of Katie which leaves him with a bloody hand, Sean finds that the gun used on the murder has links to Jimmy's past, while Jimmy becomes more and more suspicious of his former friend, which leads to the movie's end, with a lot of justice, and injustice, and answered questions, and buried ones.

This movie is about the violent loose of innocence, and about the consequences of one's childhood on their adulthood, it's about paternity, about vengeance, in the Irish community of Machassussets, and it's also about communication, and lack of communication in the couple, and the disastrous results it might have.

Some scenes from this movie are now cinema classics, especially because of the powerful acting of Sean Penn which earned him an oscar, but Tim Robbins is great as the angst ridden Dave (which earned him an Oscar too), and you will really leave this movie with a bittersweet ideas about what matters and what doesn't, and why it does matter.

and it's for movies like these that Clint Eastwood is such a legend, because has managed to become a great director after being an iconic action hero, and with honour in both, and if you don't agree with that, tell me the name of another seventies action hero, who got a special award to honour him this year, and who makes better and more energeticmovies at early Eighty years then people half his age, he should have his picture next to "living legend" in Wikipedia !

Jebbiness 3.5/5