Need to take a break from EP so I'm writing a review on a movie I watched a couple of days ago with my brother.



The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 movie which I heard created quite a buzz and was quite a box-office hit when it came out in Singapore. It was rated R over here too, at least, and I wonder why...

Anyway, to sum up this movie - standard Hollywood fare.

Not that I didn't like the movie. In fact, I have to admit that I quite enjoyed it, with the beautiful scenery of the rolling clouds amidst gallant mountains and lush greenery, paired with a wonderful soundtrack and of course, who can fault the acting of Daniel Day-Lewis?

The skinny:

It is the French-British war on the American mainland and the aboriginal Indian tribes are implicated, with both the French and British amassing tribes to their side in the fight against each other. Cue in Hwakeye (played by Day-Lweis) who is introduced as a white who was adopted and raised by an Indian tribe called the Mohicans.

Strangely-and this is never explained in the movie-there are only 3 Mohicans left : father (Chingachgook), son (Uncas) and adopted son (Hawkeye, whose real name is Nathaniel Poe). They refused to be involved in the fighting, made their way to Kentucky (why? Again, I don't know. But it's amusing the way they pronounce "Kentucky" as "Can-tak-kee"), until they chanced upon another tribe of Indians (the Hurons) attacking a small regiment of British including the two daughters of an English Colonel on their way to a fort. They fought off the Hurons and decided to escort the surviving trio to the fort. There, they met up with local American militia whom were they were friends with, and Hawkeye helped some of them escape the brutal fighting when it became clear that the British were too caught up in their own snobbishness to realize the danger awaiting them, as Hawkeye observes. this of course is much to the chagrin of the English colonel (Munro) who imprisons Hwakeye. Soon, it is obvious that the British were losing, so Colonel Munro surrenders, and the entire occupants of the fort evacuate, only to be met by the Huron war party who is out for revenge on the British for reasons any History student can figure out.

Meanwhile, romance in in the air with Hawkeye and the elder daughter of Colonel Munro, Cora (played by Medeleine Stowe), and the rest of the story pretty much focuses on that as Hwakeye goes all out to protect his beloved. Expect lots of embracing and smooching in the wilderness between the wild child and the demeanor, compassionate and understanding damsel in distress.

There's a running joke between my brother and I on this movie - the father (Chingachgook) must be thinking this as they're risking their lives over the Colonel's 2 daughters (whom both his sons are attracted to) and an English captain, "我这两个儿子，为了泡妞牺牲自己就算了，居然还把我拖下水……" (rough translation: It's bad enough that my 2 sons sacrifice themselves to woo girls, but must they drag me into this and sacrifice me as well?"

I guess I kinda expected a "epic" that at the end of the day talked about how early Western settlers imposed their own cultures onto the indigenious people and failed to truely understand their needs and their lives. By embroiling these people into their war and fighting on their land, it created tension among tribes now vying for even more limited resources, and not to mention being lured by the promises of Western captialism which at the time clearly was incompatible with the self-sufficient life they led. Not that I'm against a love story, but I sort of expected that the love story would be built on such grounds of getting rid of the egocentric views of their own cultures and embrace the beauty of the other. In fairness, this was touched on, but only in one single scene and it seemed all to quickly that Cora accepted Hwakeye and Hwakeye accepted Cora and became intimate barely days after they first met.

But well, that's early 90s Hollywood! Can't be too picky la. I guess what I'm trying to say is, they could have done much more with the story.
(unless the book from which this was adapted from was exactly like how the movie went too... then I'll keep my big mouth shut)

On the other hand, I thought I liked the subtle, almost forbidden, attraction between Chingachgook's biological son and Cora's sister. That one was touching, but of course, being the supporting cast they're story was much too underdeveloped, even as a sub-plot. Quite dissatisfying, actually.

Ok, then again, I guess I have to look at it from a blockbuster eye-view (EP terms creeping in!). Even so, the story looks disjointed and like mentioned in the summary, lots of loopholes which are all too glaring. Even the love story, which is the centre of the movie, isn't very convincing.

Well, enough of complaining and I have to admit, I thought I enjoyed it, and on the whole it was entertaining. Just can't look too deeply into it =P.


Trivia:

One particular trivia about this movie that I read about shocked me. It goes like this: "Daniel Day-Lewis is well known for going to extremes in preparation for his roles. For this film he lived in the wilderness where his character might have lived, hunting and fishing and living off the land for several months prior to shooting."

And how extreme can he get? Just look at trivia from his other 2 movies, all from IMDB:

My Left Foot (1989) (Oscar-winning performance as an artist with cerebal palsy)
According to the "Making of My Left Foot" segment on the Special Edition DVD, Daniel Day-Lewis broke two ribs during filming from assuming the hunched-over position in his wheelchair for weeks of filming. He also would refuse to come out of character. On visits to the set canteen, other people would have to help him with food. On one visit from his English agent, Day-Lewis again refused to come out of character as Christy Brown, and his frustrated agent took off.

In the Name of the Father (1993)
Daniel Day-Lewis kept his Northern Irish accent on and off the set for the entire shooting schedule. In preparation for his role, Daniel Day-Lewis lost 30 pounds and spent nights in the jail cell on the set as crew members threw water and verbal abuse at him.

And this is what he did for his latest movie after 8 years of rest, working as a cobbler in Italy:
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
He lived apart from his wife Rebecca Miller while she was directing him in 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' (2005). This is in keeping with his habit of being isolated while he is in character and shooting a film, in part the reason he is hesitant to take more film work.

Scary, if you ask me. But amazing. Truly amazing... Great if you're an audience look for some superb acting but I wonder how it's like to have a family member like that? Frustrating, I would think. And again, scary.

Would that be considered an obsession?

On a side note, I am very keen to watch The Ballad of Jack and Rose. Wonder if Singapore will ever bring that in. Also, I intend to write a review on In The Name of the Father, a shocking yet emotional piece of work, but not now for reasons I'm not sure of too. After the exams, perhaps, when my mind is clearer.