Customer Reviews

Westender

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

...WHERE HEROS ONCE STOOD, LONG SHADOWS HAVE FALLEN... That is on the cover of this DVD case and of the hundreds of DVD's that I own, this is now a personal favorite. I never heard of the film until I saw it in Sam Goody's and read the jacket. I took a chance on it and was very pleased. This is more inspiring than entertaining, more of a thinking man's film than a neatly spoon-fed plot where no mystery is left unexplained.

A hero, as highly regarded as any knight could hope to be, looses everything with the death of his love and sinks into the lowest of states in his depression. Nothing has any meaning anymore except the last symbol of his lost love in a material object, a ring lost in a drunken gamble. It is the thinest of straws for a drowning man to grasp but he sets out to recover it and along the way, recovers much more, his humanity, honor, and self respect.

I have always enjoyed this genre of film (medieval warrior films) and have many in my collection and have never been moved to write a review on any before but am complelled to do so by the narrow views taken by others here. Only a low budget film 'could' have focused on an inner struggle and not been overshadowed by special effects. The natural landscape and music more than make up for this. I even appreciated the ending with 'honor restored and life continues' without needed everything wrapped neatly into an ending. It has no end. It is a beginning with hope for all that is good to be set on the path once again.

My only main criticism was the mystical dog. Man does have a symbiotic relationship with that animal but this was either completely overdone (magical and appears when needed and does what is needed) or underdone (the relationship is not developed enough). It is a real film without action every second but the fight scenes seem more realistically timed throughout.

Great film. Bring your brain and enjoy the Oregon background and musical score while you are there. No matter how bad things get, there is always a chance and hope for redemtion of the goodness of the human spirit that you can find deep down within yourself (not relating to religion) and in us all, knights or otherwise.

I was reluctant to view this at first, as this is not generally the genre of film I like. However, after deciding to give it a try, I found myself mesmerized by the beautiful cinematography and memorable musical score. Although this is not a dialogue-driven film, it actually held my interest with the scenery of Oregon (could this beauty truly be in one state?) The lead actor, Blake Stadel, gives a good performance, truly making me feel his pain at times.

I gave this a good review as I feel there is a need for a true "art film" in the independent category. Although not a strong plot, it was beautifully directed and scored and I can't wait to see what these talented young film artists do for an encore.

I saw this movie on the suggestion of a friend and was amazed at the quality. Yeah, the script isn't stellar, but i don't think it needed to be. the movie is extremely powerful and moving in the way that it is shot and in the performance of the lead actor, who i belive to be the next big thing along with the director, Brock Morse, who i had the pleasure to meet. I think this is an excellent jumping off point for them both and one not to miss as i believe that we will be seeing much much more from both of these talented men

Which is what I said through the entire movie...

(THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

This is not a good movie...it's pretty...but it's not good

Now it was not completely wretched, the cinematography deserves every accolade that it may receive, the beautiful landscape of Oregon is very well filmed. (I particularly liked the shots of Asbrey with the snow falling, both with the felled knight and afterwards) The score is also worth mentioning, this was a fully realized score, not a simple synthesizer created orchestra. It is a big help in creating a nice experience while watching the film.

That is unfortunately where my accolades must end. I am not sure where to start...

Perhaps this comment will frame my view on this movie "Lord of the G-Strings without the sex and wit" Now please listen to me...I am not holding up Lord of the G-Strings as a great piece of cinema (though it is funny from time to time), but you can see where I am going with this.

Characters: None were developed at all. I am sure there is an argument that Asbury was very well developed, given that it is his story, but it would be a weak argument. The biggest evidence of the non-existent development is the fact that only 2 characters are given names in the film. Asbury is one, and a guy who gets killed is the other. Yet in the cast list and end credits, almost everyone has a name, yet you have no clue as to who they are referring to...Is Glim the minstrel? Or the slaver? Which of the women's names is his wife's? (We assume it is his wife, but it is never said) Who was the gypsy? Why was she in that vision? Why should we care?

The costuming budget obviously went to Asbury and, for some reason, the foreign warrior at the end. Glim's (That is apparently the name of the minstrel/Jester) costume just looked odd. And all of the miscellaneous soldiers seemed to be wearing felt tunics with black pants they brought from home. Now I can forgive a lot of this due to the budget restrictions they were obviously under and I actually give them a lot of credit for stretching things as far as they did. Though I think giving your hero a huge scar and black eye in the first scene is kind of a mistake.

The script...well...it was just awful...it really was. The plot was very formulaic (When Asbury found the cottage we all knew that either a Beautiful woman or an old wise man would come in behind him. I called the thing about the door too, though it really came out of left field.) The dialogue was almost thrown in as an afterthought. There also seemed to be a very forced "He must lose all of his stuff" scene. (Why would he have taken both swords into the fight instead of leaving Glim as backup? not very good backup albeit...) And a swordsman would never sleep with his blade stuck in the ground as he slept...it would damage the blade, even if it was just sand. Nitpicky I know, but there needs to be attention to detail in order for any film to work. Due to the low quality of the script, the acting is a toss up. It is sometimes hard to tell if an actor is doing his best with bad dialogue, or if they are making bad dialogue worse. I would not say that any of them are good actors, though the old man was oddly quite a bright spot. Glim was especially bad, while I was sitting there I thought of at least 5 more appropriate ways to deliver almost all of his dialogue. Now this may not completely be his fault, but I will address this next. (As an aside, this actor also wrote the entire score to the film...and bravo to him for it, but he should stick with his day job...or his night job...whichever one writing music is.)

Finally is the direction, now this is where I think the movie was lacking most of all. There are simply too many shots that are held for far too long. Asbury walks...a lot...alone...not talking...at all. Or he looks into the distance for a long long time. (The sideways shot in this scene however is very nice, but would have been equally poignant at half the length) Or he runs...a long long way...it is like that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Lancelot is getting closer and closer to the castle. A little cutting down of those scenes would have opened the door for (here's a novel idea) more plot or at least better development of the backstory. SPOILER Especially why his wife was killed and what that had to do with his disenchantment with his calling as a protector. Or were the two things not related? Which came first, the huge battle where he is obviously weary, or the burning?END SPOILER I also think that the director is a little bit to blame with the poor performances of some of the actors. Surely he could have coaxed out slightly better performances. Take Asbury's many angry scenes. A little bit better editing or re-thinking of the scenes would have turned them from the little tantrums that they came across as, into genuine moments of agony and rage.
Now there are many more things to address, but this review is getting quite long, so I will end it there...

As a wanna-be filmmaker myself I am always keeping tabs on low-budget (or "NO budget" as the case may be) independent films. When a new director comes onto the scene, I think it is always worth checking out their first film to see if they have potential to be a great filmmaker (the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple" and Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" denotes just that). Thus, when the movie "Westender" played at a local arthouse theatre, I was interested to see it (my interest piqued even more by the fact that it was shot almost entirely in the beautiful state of Oregon, where I live, and the writer/director Brock Morse is from my resident town of Corvallis). Of course, having seen so many poor independent films in my time, I wasn't expecting very much. I was pleasantly surprised when the film turned out to be really quite good.

The movie takes place in a fantasy medieval time and chronicles the journey of a down-on-his-luck knight named Asbrey who goes in search of a precious ring he gambled away while in a drunken stupor. Along the way he meets a variety of characters including an eccentric old man who lives alone and imparts wisdom to the weary knight and a comical sidekick named Glim who starts out as a foe but becomes a friend. Since the dialogue is minimal, the story is told primarily through the images (which are stunning) and the spelndid music score (composed by Rob Simonsen who also plays Glim). The performances (particulary by lead actor Blake Stadel) are quite good as well.

Of course, the film is not perfect. Though it is only 103 minutes, it feels longer. I think another 10-12 minutes could have been trimmed off its running length without affecting the narrative. Also, on occasion the sound (which is typically the most lacking element of any independent film) is less than stellar. These shortcomings, however, are forgiveable and can, I think, be attributed simply to relative inexperience on the part of the filmmakers. I'm sure these aspects will be improved upon in their next feature.

Overall, "Westender" is an enjoyable cinematic experience and a very promising debut which should leave the viewer looking forward to future projects by its makers.

Just finished watching this flicker with my 2 children (under the age of 10.) Son is an avid LOTR fan -- he thought it was "totally weird." Dotter generally doesn't like fantasy; she thought it was "interesting." Me? Loved the film score -- lush, beautiful 85-minutes of strings and splendid orchestration. Lead actor was convincing albeit in a self-absorbed role as knight errant. Scenery was splendid, particularly in forest element. I won't rehash all that others have said here, except to add I enjoyed the spartan dialogue and this indie film's idiosyncrasies. It's a different, quirky view -- not brain surgery or world peace -- but capable fodder for an evening before the TV with a video.

"Westender" could be very good, if they'd cut about twenty minutes of the constant walking that the hero, Asbrey the Westender, does throughout the entire film. The story goes something like this: A once great knight falls from grace. No one knows exactly what happened and it's never revealed. He loses his most prized possession, his deceased wife's ring, in a game of chance while he's drunk. He decides the next morning, after recovering from a hangover and a beatdown, that he must seek out the man who cheated him out of his ring. What happens after that is pretty standard for a fantasy flick like this. Asbrey walks...a lot. He walks through the forests, finds the guy who cheats him, befriends him, then walks some more. He finds out that the guy who took his ring, a jester named Glim, was jumped by some slavetraders who in turn stole the ring from him. Asbrey walks some more. He finds the slavetraders but is captured. The next morning he is set free by Glim, who then abandons him. So now he walks alone. He is lead by a mysterious wolf(I'm assuming it's his wife) and finds his sword, suit of armor, and a mysterious old man who teaches him that material things do not matter. Asbrey walks some more, this time through a desert that looks something like a sandy beach. He meets a few more people along the way. Asbrey uses all of his time alone screaming, crying, and fighting his internal demons. In the end, our hero must decide whether or not to do what is right or take a selfish turn.

This story could have been a lot better. The idea of the knight fighting himself more than physical enemies is great, but it is dragged out over too much time of walking alone. It's boring to watch this guy walk through the desert. It's boring to watch this guy walk through the woods. The dialogue is minimal, with emphasis placed on the beautiful music throughout the film. The acting is pretty decent, especially considering that many of the characters are portrayed by volunteers and crew members.

Overall, this film isn't too terrible. Just do yourself a favor and skim through the scenes where Asbrey wanders through the desert until he faces a few foes. Considering the shoestring budget, the film and music is of very high quality. It's worth a look simply for the beautiful scenes shot in the forests of Oregon. When the movie is green, the colors are vibrant. When the action moves to the desert, it becomes drab.

Recommended to fans of medieval fantasy and Arthurian legend, but be warned that this movie drags at a snails pace and the action is very limited.

This was a lower budget movie. Rather than spend what limited money they had a cheesy special effects they went the esoteric, artful route. That actually worked well. Frankly, it was refreshing to see a moving of this genre that was not all fake places, people and things. Oregon is a beautiful state as well. The pace was a bit slow, although, not as bad as some of the big budget junk out lately. Hey, the guy was on the "proverbial spiritual quest". It takes time. My only real knock on this movie is that it ends before it gets started. Just when he finds himself and the real action looks like it's going to begin,, the movie ends. It turns out to be the first installment. But was it good? I must admit, I want to see what happens next. So I guess it was that good.

I love this movie.

That said, this isn't a typical movie and tends to get expectations it doesn't fill.

This is a low-action medieval movie. This makes for an interesting view because most movies set in a medieval setting are heavy action movies about dragons, huge adventures or siege warfare. It is a rare film in this genre.

Westender has a small cast and is about a man that has hit rock bottom due to the death of his wife. He embarks on a low-dialogue spiritual journey to find his calling once again. That's it. No prophecy or no adventures through strange lands, just a simple man suffering from a loss.

The plot is very simple, the dialogue limited, and this movie is by no means epic.

So why do I love it?

Honestly, I find the core plot to be very down to earth. I can relate to our hero's depression. I see him dwell in his past, despite the pain. He can't get over his loss. And yet, events conspire to get him back on the right path. He struggles against fate, but finds himself on a road to self redemption. I find his journey inspiring and also very easy to relate to.

I picked this movie up secondhand. I'm not quite sure I agree with any of the reviewers who gave it 1 or 5 stars. Rather than go into depth, I'll talk about what the movie does well, and what it does not do well.
What is done well:
1. the music. Evocative score that far outdistances the movie.
2. use of Oregon's diverse natural scenery. In fact, this movie should be a travel commercial for hiking through Oregon.
3. Subtlety. There is a lot of personal struggle here, and it is very nicely woven into the script.
What is not done well:
1. dialogue. the dialogue tends to be trite and, for lack of a better word, cheesy. (That's "corny" to anyone younger than Gen X). The dialogue is either way too earnest (falls on its face trying too hard) or does not take itself seriously. Either way, the dialogue adds little to, and detracts much from, the story. The best parts of the movie have no lines!
2. editing. Some of the scenes need to be shortened. Some reviewers claim this entire movie is about walking. While it isn't that bad, there needed to be another round of editing.
3. the acting. Aside from Blake Stadel, few of the cast actually stand out. The jester is an exception: he stands out because he is glaringly bad. Hampered by the worst lines in the film, this character fails to convince. The gypsy woman (played, I think, by Darlene Dadras) is a character that needed a little more screen time--she managed to stand out in spite of her bad lines.

This movie seems to have garnered more than its share of attention, considering its budget and some of its glaring flaws. There is something about the way Westender is put together that grabs hold of an archetypal struggle. It was much easier than I expected to identify with the protagonist.

A look at the film website's project page reveals the goals of the team behind the film. They wanted a story about an inner oddysey that had "mainstream" sensibilities (read: appears to be a plot-driven narrative). Westender suffers from trying to be too many things at once. I wanted more of what was good about this movie, because what was there was seriously hampered by its flaws. I hope that MOB productions learns from its first time out: focus on your strengths.

I will watch this movie several more times because there is truth in the archetypal themes of Asbrey's struggle. But this will not be a fully enjoyable experience for me, as the weaknesses I mentioned above are glaring enough to detract from the story.

In short, this is a good film that only occasionally breaks free from its bad points.