Blueberry (2004)

Director:

Jan Kounen

Writers:

Matt Alexander (writer)
Gérard Brach (writer)

Release Date:

11 February 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Adventure | Western

Tagline:

When the angels kiss the demons,... you'd better be ready.

Plot:

In the 1870's, U.S Marshal Mike S. Blueberry tries to stop Wally Blount, the man who killed his girlfriend...

Plot Keywords:

Superstition Mountains | Bizarre | Female Nudity | Bounty Hunter | Desert

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Vincent Cassel	...	Mike Blueberry
Juliette Lewis	...	Maria Sullivan
Michael Madsen	...	Wallace Sebastian Blount
Temuera Morrison	...	Runi
Ernest Borgnine	...	Rolling Star
Djimon Hounsou	...	Woodhead
Hugh O'Conor	...	Young Mike Blueberry
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Greg Sullivan
Nichole Hiltz	...	Lola (as Nicole Hiltz)
Kateri Walker	...	Kateri
Vahina Giocante	...	Madeleine
Kestenbetsa	...	Kheetseen
Tchéky Karyo	...	Uncle
Eddie Izzard	...	Prosit
Colm Meaney	...	Jimmy McClure

Also Known As:

Blueberry: L'expérience secrète (France)
Muraya: L'expérience secrète de Mike Blueberry (France) (working title)
Renegade (USA)
The Adventures of Mike S Blueberry (France) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity and drug content.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

France | Mexico | USA

Language:

English | German | French | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chihuahua, Mexico

Company:

A.J.O.Z. Films

Trivia:

Milla Jovovich was the first choice for the role of Maria but turned it down because scheduling conflicts.

Quotes:

Runi: [In Chiricahua] I've been all over the entire universe to find you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Eddie Izzard: Sexie (2003) (V)

A Mixed Bag

Jan Kounen's latest effort is an existentialist western with opulent visuals, threadbare characterization and a shamanistic undercurrent. It is really unique, but it really isn't brilliant in its uniqueness. The only film that it vaguely reminds me of is EL TOPO, but taken in full, it's still quite different from anything that's out there.

It's a yarn that is suffering an identity crisis - it really doesn't know what it wants to be, and no one element of it wins out in the end. It will not appeal to most western genre fans because even though it has the trappings (and cliches) of a western, it doesn't follow through with them and the characters are too one-note to be likeable or dislikeable. It fails as a revealing exploration of shamanism because it doesn't give the uninitiated any background.

BLUEBERRY has a great cast, but for the most part they're wasted (no pun intended - Tcheky Karyo, in particular) and some of the casting seems gimmicky, especially that of Ernest Borgnine. Even Cassel, who is usually compelling and tries hard, fails to engage. Juliette Lewis does hold interest in a sexy turn as the spirited girl (favorite line - after hitting the weasely character Prosit who stumbles into the saloon, interrupting her rendition of a folk tune, she blurts out "You ruined my song!") in love with the protagonist, and there are some nice full-frontal shots of her in the nude underwater towards the end - one of the film's assets.

Kounen seems to have made a conscious effort to make something really different from his previous film, the brilliantly over-the-top DOBERMANN, and he has succeeded, but the film itself is somewhat disappointing. It has its moments, though. Some sequences are very strong visual storytelling. And I'm sure some people will be annoyed by it, but I actually enjoyed the ponderous pace of the film.

The film is in English and a rare Native American language, with a light sprinkling of French. Subtitling on the non-English parts (there are some fairly extended sequences in the Native American language) would've really helped, I think. Some of the CGI visuals in the peyote trip sequences are beautiful and genuinely disturbing. In general, the parts where Blueberry is among the tribe are the most intriguing and seem to belong in a different film.

Perhaps this one gets better on a second viewing, or after a few hits on some psychotropic substances...