Customer Reviews

Superheroes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you can imagine yourself feeling comfortable in a theatre with an audience full of old people who seek out sleeper films that treat significant topics with sensitivity then you will understand why I gave this film five stars. It is for mature audiences in that sense.

I am the third reviewer and I agree with the praise given by the other two, both five stars.

Actually I did not learn much new about post somatic stress but I appreciated the tension in the big differences between the two guys in the film and how they eventually came to develop more trust than would have seemed possible, though you sensed it would come.

The ballet filming did not bother me as it did others. I saw ballet as off the shelf type artsy material that was perhaps sort of boring for the young film maker and helped one to understand why he would find the vet more interesting as film material. They did not rub one's face in it, but the young film maker was looking to get something more gritty out of his camera I would say, than the struggles to make pretty dances. So for me it actually helped make the film work. Also his comment that his father did not have much use for him seemed hardly surprising, and he seemed to be attracted to forming some bond of trust with an older man. Not exactly a father figure -- the film was too subtle for that sort of cliche.

Of course this is one of the more sensitive films about "the forgotten ones" of war. We tend to talk about the number of deaths and get outraged but forget about those who are mentally and physically disfigured by wars and are still among us. I appreciate that they developed the sort of character here who is likely to stick in one's mind without necessarily being a great dramatized hero or martyr. Just a guy.

Superheroes is a fantastic movie about a veteran soldier who returns home from Iraq and experiences flashbacks and post traumatic stress symptoms as a result of his mentally agonizing days serving his country (and physically for that matter- check out what's stuck in his back later on, ugh!).

He'll reveal exactly why his time in Iraq was so horrendous later on during a special meeting that takes place with a few other returning soldiers (who are experiencing their own sets of symptoms).

The soldier meets a young man who's filming a documentary with his video camera. This is basically the storyline of Superheroes. The filmmaker follows the soldier around with his camera and attempts to get answers by asking some rather personal and specific questions concerning the war, however what he doesn't initially expect is that he actually becomes decent friends with the soldier after a while.

As a result of this friendship, the ending is extremely shocking. I actually didn't think it was heading in that direction- that's why it was such a shock to me.

The film mostly centers around a small, secluded cabin in New York surrounded by trees and a swimming pool. An extremely nice looking place, might I add.

I agree with the other reviewer that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense why the filmmaker kept flashing back to his ex-girlfriend who was constantly seen dancing in class with her friends. You could interpret it a couple different ways I guess. Such as, maybe the dancing was a sign of a better future, or a way to relieve stress? Or maybe the dancing segments were signs that the filmmaker was ready to move on from his ex-girlfriend?

Whatever it's about, it should have been better utilized with the main storyline because the way it constantly pops up out of nowhere is a bit odd to say the least. Come to think of it, just the mysterious dance itself is a bit unusual.

Dash Mihok plays a VERY convincing victim of post traumatic stress disorder. His facial expressions are extremely realistic and frightening to witness. It looks a little *too* good, like he really DOES have that condition.

Overall, Superheroes is worth watching for the compelling drama and easy to grasp storyline. I was totally attached to this movie from beginning to end. If for no other reason, it illustrates exactly why war stinks.

SUPERHEROES (dir. Alan Brown, 2006, just released on DVD in 2010) was a stunning surprise of an independent film. Aside from the unrelated documentary from August of this year by the same title (see my review), this was a pleasant albeit shocking surprise and I'm not at all surprised it was sort of repressed.

Set in mid-2005, we meet a young college student named Nick (the ethereally beautiful Spencer Treat Clark, UNBREAKABLE, GLADIATOR), an aspiring filmmaker. He's in the local VA filming - for the VA only - the group therapy sessions for Iraq War veterans. He becomes entranced by a deeply damaged and wounded vet named Ben (the stunning Dash Mihok, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW). He proposes to Ben that a documentary be made about Ben's war experiences and his life afterward. The result is tear-inducing and very realistic.

Though it is a quiet, independent and modest film, it is brilliant. It moves when it should, it stands absolutely still at certain moments and the acting is so Oscar-worthy that to even mention "Oscar" is an insult. I kept wondering, why hadn't I heard of this film before? Today it seems like there are too many Iraq/Afghanistan films that really suck. Same was true of the Viet Nam films. However, one or two of these mid-2000s films are excellent, this is one of them.

Though Nick and Ben seem on the verge of some kind of relationship, and it is a forming friendship, this film does not even go near anything like a gay relationship. In fact there is a subtle and hilarious scene that lays that idea to rest. Aside from some strong language, I'd recommend this as a family film. It could certainly be of help to those families who cannot understand Post Traumatic Stress.

Filmed on location in New York City and mostly in the woods around Lamontville, NY, there is one flaw here: I could not understand the pointless, aimless flashbacks to Nick's past. These scenes with his girlfriend taking dance classes may serve to show how boring his life as a budding filmmaker was before he met Ben; otherwise, why put it in? It detracts from an otherwise perfect film. Dash Mihok must be one of the most powerful actors I've ever watched.

This film proves one more thing: money means nothing. The box take, if ever there was any, the money it cost to make the film - all are as nothing compared to the meaning/importance of this film's subject. The subject is the damaged unfortunates returned to us from war, not at all the same people who first went. Even the "documentary style" of shooting was perfectly executed, with Nick's 'documentary footage' blending perfectly into the rest of the film. The ending, which I will not spoil, shows a love and tenderness can exist between two people, no matter what.

I have to add, both Mihok and Clark, old TV veterans and both up-and-coming actors, are riveting here. They are disciplined, skilled actors and Mihok especially can deliver lines like no one else. His voice and delivery remind me a bit of Spencer Tracy and James Earl Jones. Clark, who has a high-pitched effeminate voice, does extremely well also. Aside from seeming to be absolute opposites, Clark and Mihok actually seem like twins. Both are strapping six-footers (Mihok is 6'2") and both are old TV series veterans.

This film is worth it for them alone, but you cannot miss the riveting psychological message this film has to teach. While I myself am just too sensitive about this sort of thing and do not plan to own it, I can't recommend it enough. If nothing else, you'll learn two things: the evil of war and the excellence of good filmmaking.