Renegade (2004)

In 1870, after a brutal run-in with an outlaw in a brothel, Mike Blueberry becomes marshal in Arizona where he keeps the peace between Whites and Apaches but an influx of Indian gold treasure-hunters threatens to lead to violence.

Director:

Jan Kounen

Writers:

Matthieu Le Naour (screenplay) (as Matt Alexander), Alexandre Coquelle (screenplay) (as Matt Alexander)

Stars:

Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen, Juliette Lewis

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Guillermo Arévalo	...	Kheetseen (as Kestenbetsa)
Tchéky Karyo	...	Uncle
Eddie Izzard	...	Prosit
Colm Meaney	...	Jimmy McClure

Storyline

Alledged wayward adolescent Louisiana gentleman Michael 'Mike' Blueberry is dumped by his family with a Wild West uncle. The brute's only 'motivation' is a stick. After a nearly fatal encounter in the brothel with Wallace 'Wally' Sebastian Blount, Mike is left for dead in the desert. A Chiricuahua (Apache) medicine man's family finds, nurses and initiates him. After the shaman's death, Mike returns and becomes the town's honest 'deputy' marshal. Gold fever strikes, with staged Indian brutalities to allow rivaling fiends to invade their sacred mountains.

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Plot Keywords:

leg spreading | bare chested male | female nudity | female frontal nudity | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity and drug content

Details

Country:

France Mexico UK

Language:

English Athapascan languages German French Spanish Apache languages

Release Date:

11 February 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Renegade

Filming Locations:

Sierra de Organos, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

EUR36,100,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,482,919

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.J.O.Z. Films, La Petite Reine, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

[first lines]
Blueberry: He's... dead. And now it's my turn. I am leaving... this world. I'm leaving... my memories. I see...

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Crazy Credits

To my brother Kestenbetsa

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #32.15 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Danny Boy
by Frederick Edward Weatherly
Performed by Juliette Lewis

User Reviews

Long, slow western set in a man's mind is one of the most beautiful films in years even if it 's almost dramatically inert

This is an odd duck of a movie. I became interested since I'm a fan of Eddie Izzard who plays a mad Prussian lusting for gold. I knew it would be intriguing since its based on a Moebius comic strip, but I wasn't really expecting what I got.

The movie tells the story of Mike Blueberry, a US Marshall in the old west. As he lays "dying" we drift back through his life, stopping at about the point the crazed Prussian is getting everyone hot with gold fever and an old enemy returns to haunt him. Add to the mix shaman, bounty hunters, spirits, double crosses and peyote (for the crew as well as the cast) and you have a unique western.

Its a weird film with portents and visions criss crossing with hypnotic cinematography. This is a movie that looks great. There is a first rate cast, although I do have to say that I found some of the accents, Izzard's and star Vincent Cassel's a bit out of place.

Pretty much everything works except the screenplay which seems intent on being oblique for the hell of it. There is a heavy dose of Indian mysticism that seems to have been put there just to make things seem like they have a deep meaning (I think there was too much peyote behind the scenes). I'm not sure they do. The obliqueness and constant mystic reference slow the movie down to a crawl. After a while I stopped caring and started to look for the DVD remote. (Even worse is the fact that you have to pay attention to this movie or you're going to end up lost, so once I found the remote I had to back it up to see what I missed.) This is not a bad film, its just a rather dull and confused one. I'm sure in the right frame of mind this plays wonderfully, but I haven't determined what that is. I've rated it five out of ten because of the parts. The parts are interesting even if the whole is often a crashing bore. For fans of the cast, rabid western fans and those looking for head trip films only.