The Exiles – 2-Disc Premiere Edition (1961/Milestone DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B+
Film: B
Nothing like discovering a lost film that has historical
value and is a significant film, but it has been known to happen and Kent
Mackenzie’s The Exiles (1961) is one
of those gems that has survived and is fortunately in tact after being an
orphaned film for most of its existence.
The story is about two things, a group and community of Native Americans
living in Los Angeles and the neighborhood they
live in, Bunker Hill. We meet a group of teens whose families
migrated to the neighborhood and see them living life in the rawest terms
possible.
Ahead of its time, it is one of the few early films (and
still one of the few films) to address the existence and lives of Native
Americans, but is one that is a pleasure to watch throughout thanks to the
performances of a group of unknown actors who are very believable as a new
generation living life in the then-modern time, but still being ignored or virtually
invisible to the mainstream. This is
what real independent cinema is about, not some stuff boutique production that
bores one to death or some pretentious package deal.
The irony is that a few years after the film as finished,
all the Native Americans and especially elderly were pushed out of Bunker Hill
for several rounds of disastrous “urban renewal” projects that gutted out its
character and ruined what should have been left alone and would have had more
moneyed people lived there. Therefore, the
joy and realism that is captured here is all the more precious and
valuable. The characters are likable and
the film takes us somewhere we have never been before and probably never be
again in the way the best films about something are.
Mackenzie does a remarkable job in what was his first
feature film and only made one more feature, but left plenty of short works
behind of equal quality. Milestone, one
of the greatest distributors of key films around, picked this film up, helped
to save it, made it a hit and now on DVD, it will likely become an independent
classic. I loved how he makes sure the
teens are listening to the same mainstream music as you would hear in the
suburbs, but there is chemistry with the cast, the city and it is a great film
to sit through. Nice to see all the
positive buzz was correct.
The 1.33 X 1 black and white image (wrongly listed as 16 X
9 in the paper slip inside the DVD case, but correct on the back cover of the
box) is a little soft, but is otherwise very impressive for an independently
produced film of its age and limited budget.
Shot in 35mm film by Erik Daarstad, Robert Kaufmann and John Arthur
Morrill (A Boy & His Dog,
reviewed elsewhere on this site), those who restored it really worked hard to
make it look this good. You get some
soft shots, but detail, depth and definition are decent while Video Black is
very good. I hope Milestone makes this
one of their first Blu-rays. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono shows its age, but has been cleaned up very well and the combination
is a challenge to many big studio releases of the same age.
Extras are many and include the 2008 trailer, clips from
Thom Anderson’s Los Angeles Plays Itself,
a feature length audio commentary by Sherman Alexie & Sean Axmaker that
shows their enthusiasm but does far too many comparisons to dozens of other
important films instead of talking about what they see, the short Bunker Hill (1956) Mackenzie directed
for USC and audio of the opening of the film at UCLA form its recent re-release
on DVD 1. DVD 2 adds three more short
films by Mackenzie also very much worth seeing: A Skill For Molina, Story Of
A Rodeo Cowboy and Ivan & His
Father. We also get a second audio
interview with Alexie & Axmaker, audio of Alexie and Charles Burnett on The Leonard Lopate Show, stills from
the film, DVD-ROM downloadable Mackenzie
Files, Robert Kirste’s Last Day Of
Angels Flight (2:31) short, Greg Kimble’s Bunker Hill: A Tale Of Urban Renewal (22:26) short and White Fawn’s Devotion, a silent film
that is the first ever to be directed by a Native American.
Impressive all around.
Don’t miss this set!
- Nicholas Sheffo
