The Brave (1997)

that kind of movie who could become a mirror. dark, honest, a not complicated story about sacrifice, options, hope and the rhythm of a small group looking happiness. almost brutal as example of honesty, it is proof of refined art. because propose an actor and a director who have profound science to explore each detail in splendid manner. because the result is a large fresco about pain and about not ordinary joy. because it is not a manifesto or a fresco, but a testimony. because it defines Johnny Depp in a new light, not surprising but unusual. it is a not easy film because the message is result of each image. because the purpose is to give a fascinating story of life without any ornament. only the naked truth. and that fact transforms it in support of reflection. short, not an easy film. but useful .

As an artist Johnny Depp has long been known for having occasionally quirky film projects, some have gotten good critical acclaim and some have even gained great public acclaim, the Pirates Of The Caribbean series have had enormous commercial success. But with The Brave he came up a cropper as the film comes across as terribly self indulgent.It was an interesting idea, a man so desperate and feeling so useless and alienated from society that the best thing he can do for himself is offer his body for sacrifice. Now there isn't an insurance company in the world who would finance something like what Depp has in mind. He needs some up front money.Which comes in the large form of Marlon Brando who in a 15 minute scene with Depp offers $50,000.00 in cash to be the victim in a snuff film. Now that's something that requires a lot of up front money.After which Depp starts to spread it around among friends and family and the best part of the film is his re-creation of a miniature Disneyland type park in the trailer park where his American Indian family reside. One of his relatives Luis Guzman suspects that Depp's new found largess comes from some criminal activity. Let's just say that Guzman forces many issues.The setting of the American Indian reservation was a good choice as the poverty in many of those reservations is a well documented fact. No place better than that could show desperation and lack of options. Depp has a minor criminal record. I've seen how that has locked people out from jobs who aren't Indians.Sad to say that Johnny Depp overplayed this film though. It goes down in his work legacy as a noble experiment that sadly misfired.

A down-on-his-luck American Indian (Johnny Depp) recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film...I should first say that I watched the Korean important version, which has over 20 minutes cut from the full version. I am unclear how much difference this makes, but it does seem to create a minor continuity problem here or there. I would gladly watch it again in the full version just to see what I missed.This film captured the 1990s. The darkness, the nihilism. Surely not everyone approached the 90s this way, but industrial music was at its peak, and films like "Seven" and the works of Tim Burton were at the forefront of popular culture...Casting Johnny Depp as an Indian was debatable, of course, as he only vaguely looks the part. But he does bring a certain star power to the film that probably gets it noticed by more people this way. And if Marlon Brando could be Mexican in "Viva Zapata", why can Depp not be Indian here? (In fairness, his great-grandmother was Cherokee, so it is not completely a fabrication... just mostly.)

Brave, The (1997) * (out of 4) Johnny Depp's directorial debut is a film I've been dying to see since I first heard about it back around 1996. In the film Depp plays an American Indian who can't get a job due to being a drunk and this doesn't leave much of a future for his wife and two children. Somehow he is introduced to a man (Marlon Brando) who offers his $50,000 to be tortured and killed in a snuff film. With no other future in site the man takes the job. There's been all sorts of reasons why this film was never released in America. I've heard stories of Depp being mad at American critics who trashed the film in Cannes and I've heard the storyline was just too depressing for release here. I think the real reason is that the film is simply a piece of junk. Since Depp was director, star and co-writer he certainly has to take the majority of the blame. The film has a terrific storyline but he doesn't do a thing with it and in the end the film is simply a mess. Everyone delivers their lines at such a slow and drawn out way that had they sped it up just 1% then I'm sure the film would have lost an hour of its running time. The performances are also dull and that includes Brando. I might sound like George here but this film has gotten a lot of great reviews from fans but to me it sounds like people love this film just because it has a foreign, non-Hollywood feel to it. Add in the fact that he didn't get released and they seem to be hailing this as some sort of masterpiece that "normal folks" can't "get". I think Depp is an incredibly talented guy but you wouldn't know it by watching this film.