Sorcerer
Sorcerer showed up in the mail via NetFlix and for the life of me I couldn't remember why I ordered it. One theory is that I thought it was a fantasy flick. The title has little to do with the movie itself and it's certainly not about fantasy sorcerers casting spells. Another possibility, and more likely, is that I was writing a review of Vertical Limit and someone mentioned that Sorcerer did it first.
It doesn't matter, I watched the movie anyway. And what I saw was alternately painful and enthralling.
Sorcerer is about four men down on their luck. Actually, that's an understatement. They're not just down on their luck; they're at the very rock bottom of their lives. They are each one step away from complete oblivion, be it at an assassin's hand or their own.
The movie starts out with little apology tracking these four independent threads. The first half hour of the film makes no sense because we don't know what we're seeing: one Frenchman businessman is ruined and flees the country; a New York wheelman crosses the wrong gang; a Middle Eastern terrorist bombs a dwelling; one is an assassin. They are all on the run from their respective countries.
They all end up in Vera Cruz, in South America, a stinking fissure in the earth. Naked children and dogs wander the streets. Everything is encrusted in dirt and the slime of sweat, rain, mud, and oil. The only place a man can find work is at the oil company upon which Vera Cruz depends for its survival.
An explosion sabotages the well. The oil burns and will burn forever unless it is covered - and that requires explosives. Of course, in the South American jungles the nearest cache of nitroglycerin has been festering for years and become highly unstable. It can't be lifted by helicopter, so trucks must carry it. One strong bump and the nitroglycerin explodes.
Finally, the movie gets interesting. We have four unlikable characters forced to work together. They must battle the elements, bandits, and human stupidity to ensure their cargo and their lives make it to the oil well intact.
If you recall Vertical Limit, the concepts were the same: different groups armed with nitroglycerin must brave nature and the elements for some noble cause. While not as gut wrenching as Vertical Limit, Sorcerer manages to inject pathos into the characters. They weep, they take desperate measures, and they become more noble as they rise to each crushing challenge.
Ultimately, all of them came to Vera Cruz to flee something else. Now that they have come to Hell, like Orpheus and Dante they must descend to its bowels to escape it. The journey with the nitroglycerin is their purgatory.
It's no surprise that few of the characters survive, but the movie goes one step further. The sole survivor finds solace in the dirt and horror of the town itself. In short, his journey to get enough money to escape was about selfish ends until he realizes that his struggles had purpose - he saved the town's fate, at least for a little while. His own life is precious. And so, he uses his last moments before leaving to dance with a haggard woman rather than make his escape. His redemption will not be satisfied with anything but his death.
And the name of the movie? Sorcerer is the name of the truck.
It doesn't matter, I watched the movie anyway. And what I saw was alternately painful and enthralling.
Sorcerer is about four men down on their luck. Actually, that's an understatement. They're not just down on their luck; they're at the very rock bottom of their lives. They are each one step away from complete oblivion, be it at an assassin's hand or their own.
The movie starts out with little apology tracking these four independent threads. The first half hour of the film makes no sense because we don't know what we're seeing: one Frenchman businessman is ruined and flees the country; a New York wheelman crosses the wrong gang; a Middle Eastern terrorist bombs a dwelling; one is an assassin. They are all on the run from their respective countries.
They all end up in Vera Cruz, in South America, a stinking fissure in the earth. Naked children and dogs wander the streets. Everything is encrusted in dirt and the slime of sweat, rain, mud, and oil. The only place a man can find work is at the oil company upon which Vera Cruz depends for its survival.
An explosion sabotages the well. The oil burns and will burn forever unless it is covered - and that requires explosives. Of course, in the South American jungles the nearest cache of nitroglycerin has been festering for years and become highly unstable. It can't be lifted by helicopter, so trucks must carry it. One strong bump and the nitroglycerin explodes.
Finally, the movie gets interesting. We have four unlikable characters forced to work together. They must battle the elements, bandits, and human stupidity to ensure their cargo and their lives make it to the oil well intact.
If you recall Vertical Limit, the concepts were the same: different groups armed with nitroglycerin must brave nature and the elements for some noble cause. While not as gut wrenching as Vertical Limit, Sorcerer manages to inject pathos into the characters. They weep, they take desperate measures, and they become more noble as they rise to each crushing challenge.
Ultimately, all of them came to Vera Cruz to flee something else. Now that they have come to Hell, like Orpheus and Dante they must descend to its bowels to escape it. The journey with the nitroglycerin is their purgatory.
It's no surprise that few of the characters survive, but the movie goes one step further. The sole survivor finds solace in the dirt and horror of the town itself. In short, his journey to get enough money to escape was about selfish ends until he realizes that his struggles had purpose - he saved the town's fate, at least for a little while. His own life is precious. And so, he uses his last moments before leaving to dance with a haggard woman rather than make his escape. His redemption will not be satisfied with anything but his death.
And the name of the movie? Sorcerer is the name of the truck.
posted by talien | 8:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home