Hostiles - DVD

HostilesHostiles has moved into the ranks of my all time favorite Westerns. After viewing the movie two years ago, there was something that drew me back to the film, and the price of the DVD was a bargain. After watching the movie a second time through, it is a work of art in regards to its beauty, acting, and message of reconciliation.Spare on dialogue, long on expression, posture and the constant theme of irony that permeates the movie, it needs be savored as a good meal or that glass of single malt. I’ve seen a number of Christian Bale flicks, but his performance in Hostiles is the one that has left a lasting impression. As the Indian Wars of compression and extermination are all but over in the 1890’s American West, the need for the mounted cavalry which carried out the war has ceased to exist.The Bale character, who has obviously warred against the Indians with vengeance, is given one last assignment, which requires him to escort a dying Cheyenne Chief (Wes Studi) to Montana so he can die and be buried on his native land. After years of war, it is made obvious Bale is hostile to this last order. Carry out the order, or face Court Marshall. Enter Rosamund Pike, whose entire family has just been wiped out by marauding Comanche renegades, with a conditioned fear of and newfound reason to hate Indians. She accompanies Bale and his small detachment, and becomes a pivotal figure in the movies irony and reconciliation theme.A fine cast, superbly directed by Scott Cooper, of characters are drawn together along the journey to Montana where the final irony occurs. The Chief is buried on what happens to be a rancher’s land and the final conflict of the movie occurs. Bale shines in this part, first embracing the irony of his situation. Through his facial expressions, the tilt of and slow shaking of his head, it’s as if he finally realizes during this no win situation, who are the true hostiles. His last fight is brutal, cruel, and filled with poetic justice. It’s as if Christian Bale and the movie Hostiles were made for each other.Other than the scene with the fur trappers capturing the women... which seems rushed and likely great portions of this scene on the cutting room floor, this is a fantastic movie. To some, the movie may appear slow moving, but as in all art, where there appears to be nothing, the negative spaces, these spaces are just as important to the subject matter, as they are to the storyline in Hostiles. A superb musical score always compliments, and never overwhelms what is happening on the screen. I liked that.A sixty minute special feature on the making of Hostiles is included. I highly recommend viewing the movie Hostiles.

Two and one half hours of a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Amazing.

This movie stands out due to the breathtaking scenery of the frontier lands, as well as the very realistic presentation of Christian Bale as a captain from the late 1800s. Bale is very believable in his physical presentation (facial hair, haircut, rigid expression, uniform) and in his overly formal, stoic interactions. But the movie does fall short in some ways. Some of the acting is underwhelming; it's as if the producers and directors thought that the realistic 1800s movie set and costumes were 90 percent of the film and everything else was an afterthought. Particularly in the very beginning of the movie, the acting could have been better. At times, the movie seemed to be wrestling with issues of race and conscience, which detracted slightly from the authenticity, as some of the scenes seemed to be curated to create an impression, as opposed to being just raw lifestyle scenes of that era like most of the other scenes in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I did like the ending of the movie, even though some have criticized it. To me, the ending seemed organic in light of that time period and how people interacted.

Love bales movies.

This is the type of movie that is slow to catch on, but when it finally finds its audience, it’s kept high on the shelf next to the old classics. I watched it for the first time last night, and for the third time this afternoon. This is not your typical cowboys and Indians shoot-em-up, nor is it a movie for the little kiddies. I took a chance on this movie because I saw Wes Studi, a legend in my library of personal favorites. I was thrilled to see that Q’Orianka Kilcher (Te Ata, The New World) was in it as well, although appropriately not on the cover billing as she plays but a supporting role in this film. In a nutshell, this movie is a rough-cutting, tooth-sawed portrayal of both man’s inhumanity to man and man’s triumph over inhumanity, in a story that opens with a knockout performance by Rosamund Pike as the traumatized widow and mother grasping at a reason to keep living despite a heart-wrenching personal tragedy, and Christian Bale as the quietly devoutly religious Army career man and captain who has always done his job for Uncle Sam without question — up to but not including confronting personal prejudices and a hardened attitude towards ‘the Red Man.' Required by duty to act as an escort for a Cheyenne Chief (Wes Studi), the journey through sweeping landscapes both tests and heals all of those involved, right up to the both tragic and triumphant ending. The very last scene was pure cinematic genius, perfectly acted by Bale—and in a single moment of decision, we know that the Veteran Army captain has triumphed over the inhumanity he has both had to witness and participate in. “Introspection” is the word for what some reviewers have called “slow,” and I find this movie weaves quiet moments between traumatized souls —and the terror of sheer survival on the frontier—with deft agility. This is a heart-wrenching and yet introspective movie that, for whatever reason, just hasn’t found its audience yet. Five easy, EASY stars.