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I had no idea
what I was getting into when I sat down
to watch director Jan Kounen’s western
epic, “Renegade.” I knew little
about it, other than it was a cowboy flick
directed by a French director. I also happened
to know that it starred Vincent Cassel,
Michael Madsen, and Juliette Lewis (and
that last bit of casting almost made me
not want to see it…) This is like
no western I’ve ever seen.
I’m hard-pressed to tell you what
it’s about, because just by watching
it, it’s hard to make pick out the
plot from the highly visual schizophrenic
experience that “Renegade” is.
But let me try. I know it involves a Cajun
man by the name of Mike Blueberry (Cassel),
who as a young man is nearly killed. He
is raised by Native Americans and goes through
all the spiritual falderal that goes with
it. When he returns to the world of the
white man, he becomes a marshal in a small
town. Soon after, he finds he has to face
the demons of his past, which includes a
gunman (Madsen).
Sounds pretty straight forward doesn’t
it? Well, my friend it is far from it. After
the 2 hours it took me to watch “Renegade”,
I found myself wondering what plaent the
director was from, or at the very least,
what drugs he was using while making this
film.
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Very little of the film takes place in what we
would call the real world, instead opting to deliver
a peyote induced series of visions and revelations.
Much of the time, we see little more than kaleidoscope
images meant to be part of a spiritual journey
that we are meant to take with the film’s
protagonist.
I’ll be the first to tell you I like it
when movies shock and surprise me, but only when
the surprises are good ones. These visuals are
kinds of cool and creepy, but they take up way
too much screen time. It makes the film very hard
to follow (and I’m a pretty smart guy, I
hate to think what the average DVD viewer would
think…), and ends up making the film somewhat
of a bore.
The actors all do fine jobs with their roles,
especially Cassel. Considering he’s a French
actor taking on the part of an American cowboy,
he is excellent. Even Madsen, who is a favorite
of mine, chews up the scenery as the supernatural
gunman. Of course, there’s Juliette Lewis.
I used to consider her the greatest non-acting
actresses in the business (a title now held by
Amanda Peet), whose presence usually meant the
director just couldn’t find anybody else.
I still remember seeing her topless in “Strange
Days”, and that alone was an image that
made me want to gouge out my eyes. Here you see
a lot more of her, and let me tell you, the eye-gouging
wouldn’t be enough. A total memory wipe
is in order…
There are no extra features on this new DVD release,
which is probably for the better. There is little
I wanted to learn about the making of the film
other than what the heck it was about (and just
exactly what was in those drugs…).
Directed by: Jan Kounen
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen, Juliette
Lewis, Goeffrey Lewis, Colm Meaney, Eddie Izzard,
Ernest Borgnine, Tcheky Karyo
Extras: None
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 11/2/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Violence, Sexuality, Nudity
and Drug Content)
Website
We'll give Renegade a D.
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