Westerns are to Kevin Costner what water is to James Cameron, and the director’s latest film, which cemented his rightful place in cinematic history, represents his boldest, grandest, and most ambitious turn behind the camera yet.
Attending the Los Angeles Premiere Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 I’ll admit on Monday night that I knew almost nothing about this movie beforehand: I hadn’t read any reviews or advance press, other than a brief snapshot report that Kevin Costner had shelled out $38 million for it. With my own money After years of setbacks and failures, my beloved project was given the green light. To be honest, I was dreading this experience. Thinking back, just a few days prior, I had suffered the worst back pain I’d had in years, leaving me barely able to move, and the thought of sitting in a movie theater for three hours watching a movie I wasn’t particularly interested in, with a constant sharp pain pulsating between my hips, was not in my mood to go see a movie.
But as soon as the lights dimmed and Kevin Costner stepped out in front of the packed theater to begin his introductory speech, I was spellbound, and realized I was about to experience something American cinema desperately needed: a filmmaker exposing himself to the world on a grand scale.
“Movies remind you of who you want to be and how you want to behave in certain situations,” Costner told the audience on Monday night. “For me, movies have always been that role model. I know the kind of person I want to be on screen and the kind of person I don’t want to be. This Western is going to challenge the audience and reveal the kind of person I want to be and the kind of person I don’t want to be.”
With that eloquent speech in mind, I Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 Whatever its flaws and shortcomings, this will be a special experience. Three hours later, as the end credits rolled and the audience erupted in applause, I rose and limped out of the theater, grateful to have seen all three hours of Costner’s grandiose, unfiltered vision uncut, and looking forward to the next three hours of Chapter Two.
Now, lest I be accused of being biased because of my great love for auteur filmmaking, I want to make something clear. horizon The film has some issues that prevent it from growing in areas where it should have. Open RangeCostner’s cinematic perspective is unfortunately influenced by the so-called “Golden Age of Television” and horizon The filming is Dances with Wolves And more Yellowstoneis just a fancy way of saying “made for TV.” Framing that should be wide and airy often feels cramped and closed in. Colors that should be shaded and subdued often feel garish and intimidating. Lighting that should feel natural and layered often feels artificial and simplistic.
The actors certainly try hard, but some of the performances feel awkward and polished rather than grounded and tried-and-true, especially for people who are supposed to have lived the rough life of the American frontier.lost, Wyatt Earp) gives the best performance in the film, followed by Michael Rooker, Abbey Lee, and of course Mr. Costner himself.
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but, horizon If Costner does it right, he scores points that would make buying a ticket highly recommended. First, despite the three-hour running time, I never once found myself bored or staring at the clock waiting for the outcome. Quite the opposite: I found the story fascinating, the themes rich, and the ambition grandiose. As promised, Costner weaves a layered story of loosely interconnected threads about the American westward expansion at the end of the Civil War. He pulls out all the stops: Union soldiers, Native Americans, grizzled frontiersmen, outlaws, hotheaded gunslingers, prostitutes, caravans, townsfolk, Chinese railroad workers, and every other character that has been a staple of westerns since John Ford yelled “action!” To be frankAmazingly, and I have to give credit to Costner for pulling this off, horizon It was distinctive, unique and most importantly, memorable – you really cared about their situation and you felt the emotions Costner wanted you to feel: fear, sadness, hope.
The same can be said about the settings, which are as numerous and vast as the characters, ranging from weathered towns to makeshift camps. horizon There is a certain weight, gravity and tension to the work – it feels like an inhabited space, transporting the viewer to a time and place long gone, never to be revisited.
Among movies like Kevin Costner horizon Or Josh Margolin’s Thelma Or Jeff Nichols’ BikersJune offered an interesting lineup of films that appealed to all ages, and was a very welcome change from the usual big-budget popcorn flicks that dominated the season so far. And even more so, like the next Francis Ford Coppola film. MegalopolisCostner’s willingness to put himself out there is a breath of fresh air in a film world ruled by algorithms, formulas and social media trends.
Who knows! This could be new cinematic territory that Kevin Costner is brave enough to tread. Let’s hope he keeps his flag planted and hangs on until winter comes.
Directed by Paul Laurent Bois An award-winning Christian technology thriller, example,this is Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 100% Free to watch Youtube or Tubi“Better than Murderer of the Flower Moon.” Mark Judge wrote:“You’ve never seen a story like this before.” Christian Toth wrote:High quality, ad-free rentals Google Play, Vimeo On Demand, or YouTube MovieFollow him on .X Proland Films Or Instagram Proland Films.
