Jan Kounen
Blueberry

Spiritual Shamanic Trilogy: First Volume.

Am I the type who enjoys a good movie? No, I wouldn't say so, unplugging for a while and immersing the "soul" of my personal view within the rectangular perimeter of the TV, limiting to the minimum an "objective" critical judgment are not qualities I possess. I know. And who cares, thinking about it I feel like adding, ultimately in many circumstances it's just fiction. Invented stories that have the imperative duty to make us reflect, entertain, move, dream, anger, etc., for heaven's sake! This concept must prove sacred otherwise what are we talking about, folks!

I've been greatly interested in spiritual tantric visions and what they wish to represent for a while now, not sure why. The protagonist Mike Blueberry, on the other hand, (Hugh O’Conor/Vincent Cassel) must have the most sincere awareness in this hallucinatory western full of discoveries. I adore the vast panorama that the Grand Canyon can offer, the faded colors of old films from the sixties, the white clouds "embedded" within a summer sky that watches over a desert populated by cacti and venomous snakes. Blueberry is just a disrespectful boy punished by his family and forced to move to his uncle's ranch in the town of Palomito...

Mea culpa, mea culpa dang it, I didn't pay much attention the first few times. I was deceived by the initial subtitle: freely adapted from the comic book series "Blueberry." Where is it written that any literary work must be elevated to the maximum state? Visually speaking, the film by French director Jan Kounen is not an iconoclast. This bizarre creation is able to dislodge, but not excessively, those mainstream parameters so beloved by modern cinema, showing us a non-conventional but abstract religious belief and ultimate meaning. Indeed, as far as I remember, I've never seen a western of this kind, at least regarding certain stylistic solutions. Therefore, I feel an irrepressible desire to defend it vehemently, also considering the many undeserved criticism.

The wise say that adolescence constitutes the most delicate individual journey of a man, which is true and right. Meanwhile, our hero has become a sheriff but can't forget, can't forget that infatuation with Madeleine... bad things happened in that bordello, the bedroom caught fire, the recurring strong sense of guilt... the embodied demon of ranger Wollace (Michael Madsen). Blueberry thinks about it every day... what is Wollace looking for in the Sacred Mountains? In chiricahua territory, for gold? Even the wealthy landowner Sullivan (Geoffrey Lewis), wants the gold of the Mountains... well, I can say with certainty that analyzing the film from a historical perspective, I doubt we will find documentary truths about Native American culture. The chiricahua however are not strangers to the religious practice of initiation. It's now clear to many that through a "potion" containing various carefully selected herbs by the Shaman, in this case, Ayahuasca naturally, it's possible to reach the Great Spirit.

Every expert Shaman must seek that "light," those truths that others are not allowed to identify, it takes psychedelic substances to ingest or inhale to acquire such powers but that's not enough; the knowledge of the surrounding nature must be broad, combined with the most charitable mercy. Only with these qualities can we deem ourselves worthy of such a name. A young white man wounded and lost must be helped, must be "initiated," it doesn't matter if he violated sacred Indian boundaries, Blueberry fascinated but afraid at the same time respects Indian culture. Runi (Temeura Morrison) the young Shaman is his friend, his spiritual guide. Then the film, shot for the most part in Mexico, offers breathtaking original landscapes, undoubtedly the best trait of the ambitious work by the European director.

Sullivan's henchmen have set off towards the gold mountains, led by the vile geologist Prosit (Eddie Izzard) and the laborer Woodhead (Djimon Hounsou). Inevitably they will have to face Wollace, he doesn't want to share the "knowledge" with anyone, obviously, but Blueberry? Will the love of the vengeful Maria (Juliette Lewis), Sullivan's real daughter, save him? I've come to the conclusion that the key message the director offers us is rooted within us: know yourself son, to know others and find inner peace, the secret experience... - these are higher philosophical concepts and I am moved... Heck my head is exploding though, let's see what I can find oh, this'll do... an Ayahuasca pill aaah aaah aaah! -

Therefore, it is fair to say that I had to reconsider, because this movie is not bad at all, damn it, but why not! even damn it all to hell!

Rating: 3/5 (very subjective).