Heaven's Burning

Rating:
Summary: Even the talented Crowe can't save this stinker
Review: After seeing Gladiator earlier this summer, I've been tracking down and watching all of Mr. Crowe's backlist-- the good (LA Confidential; Romper Stomper; The Insider; The Sum of Us) the okay (Rough Magic; Mystery, Alaska; Breaking Up) and the bad (Virtuosity; The Quick and the Dead). All of these films featured a wonderful Russell Crowe performance.

Now I've run across a film that even Mr. Crowe's immense acting talent and onscreen charisma can't save. I rented this film on VHS earlier this summer, and was really disappointed.

The major problem I had with this film is that it's a hopeless mess. It suffers from genre indecision--- is it an bank-heist action flick? A female-empowerment flick? A road romance? A Thelma-and-Louise wannabe?

It tries to be all of these things, and as a result the character motivations make little or no sense, the pacing is glacial, and the film's initial story question (will Midori finally work up the courage to leave her stifling existence) is soon dissipated in a pointless chase across the Outback mixing samurai revenge and ex-Afghan freedom fighters. There are a number of murders for no explicable reason, and the moment of spunk that Midori shows quickly bogs down in her endless and unconvincing monologues about how she's falling in love with Russell Crowe's character.

None of the characters are sympathetic, and what the hell are they doing driving around the Outback, anyway? The climax of the movie hinges on the inexplicable decision of our two fugitive lovers to stop at a Bachelors and Spinsters Ball, where they are apparently the only attendees and the only reasonable motivation for doing so is the screenwriter's need to have a climactic confrontation.

All in all, a very disappointing mishmash of lame plot and senseless action.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Surprise
Review: Afterseeing and purchasing Gladiator I had to find the rest of Russell Crowe's films. This little gem was a very pleasant surprise. Crowe comes across as both vulnerable and in control. The ending was a surprise. I enjoyed this movie very much and am looking forward to more quality work from a man in control of his craft.

Rating:
Summary: Heaven's Burning
Review: Altogether an unlikely scenario, but great fun to watch anyway. I was in the mood for escapism and romance when I watched this one, and found it to be quite fine. I suppose at one time or another, every married woman wonders about running off for an adventure- we only dream about finding such a passion in the process.

This one was primarily a visceral treat- muscles, hints of bondage, "spunk" (gotta watch to understand this one), dancing in formal wear- whew! Colin is a man of few words, but who the hell cares? Facial expressions, body movements, tone of voice, the gentle, awkward approach say it all. The accordian playing guy in the electric wheelchair who gets ditched out in the middle of nowhere cracked me up. I liked this one well enough after renting it, to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Racist tripe...
Review: Crowe adds to his litany of race-bashing films (see Romper Stomper) with this drivel about an unhappy Asian woman who takes off with Crowe while pursued by her unhinged, Yakuza-like Japanese boyfriend. The stereotyping in this film sets a new high for cinema in the last 25 years. Not even Romper Stomper showed Asian men being this animal-like and inhuman (makes you think of the old John Wayne war movies). And of course, as always, it is the strong, virile white man who must rescue the waif-like oriental princess from evil yellow clutches. Disgusting. One scene has an old Aussie telling the evil "jap" that his tiny island nation with all its "little people" will be swallowed up by earthquakes and floods because of what they did in WWII. Jesus... And in the penultimate scene we get the Japanese gal telling off her hubbie: "You don't know what love is" before blowing him away. God... This film, like Romper Stomper (along with Rising Sun and Sixteen Candles) is basically just every racist white guy's fantasy -- nab the geisha gal while showing how asexual and hideous Asian men are. For once, I'd like to see the stereotype inverted -- let's see a strong, virile Asian dude get the white chick while blowing away racist rednecks. Now I'd pay to see THAT!

Rating:
Summary: Ugh!
Review: Despite my fondness for Russell Crowe, this movie was awful. Much too much senseless killing for no reason. Borderline ridiculous.

Rating:
Summary: Positively operatic
Review: For some reason, revenge tragedies have gotten a bad rap ever since the ancient Greeks stopped writing them. Even Shakespeare's big attempt at a revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus, generally draws sneers from critics, even though it is a very powerful play with some beautiful poetry (see the film Titus when you get the chance). In a number of ways, Heaven's Burning might be considered a revenge tragedy and it turns out to be surprisingly good.

I'll be the first to admit that this isn't the kind of film that I would normally watch. And the film seemed a non-starter to begin with, with none of the characters seeming particularly interesting to me. Of course, that all changed when Russell Crowe as Colin made his first appearance onscreen. I've seen him in several other films in much higher-profile roles (The Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander) and I can't honestly say that he made more of an impression on me in those films than he did in this little film that most people have probably never even heard of.

This movie started out extremely slowly and gathered steam as it went along. I was uncertain at first whether I would be able to sit through the whole thing, but when it got to the part where getaway driver Colin bumps off the guy who is about to kill bank robbery hostage Midori (Yoki Kudo) even though she didn't do anything wrong (other than a lot of crying, moaning and whining), I knew I was going to stay tuned until the end. That's one of the things that distinguishes revenge tragedies; the hero does some act that sets in motion most of the other acts that eventually lead to his downfall. In this case, the man killed by Colin has a father and a brother who are not amused. I was reminded of Verdi's opera La forza del destino, where the hero Alvaro accidentally kills the father of the heroine Leonora in the course of an elopement, setting off the chain of events that ends with Alvaro also killing Leonora's hell-bent-on-revenge brother Carlo, who nonetheless manages to kill Leonora just before he dies. Getting back to Heaven's Burning, Midori also plays her part in her ultimate fate by running off and leaving her newlywed and rather boring husband Yukio (Kenji Isomura). Many folks have commented on the racist aspects of the plot; however, the fact that Midori and Yukio are both Japanese adds an additional layer to the story that would not be present otherwise, since Yukio's attempt at revenge is not only motivated by love but much more by the fact that he has been dishonored (he even tells his friend that he can't return to Japan from Australia, where he took Midori for their honeymoon). So both Colin and Midori have done things that lead to their ultimate downfalls, and just to make sure their fate is sealed, they have gotten the cops involved by robbing a bank.

One other point where I was not certain I would be able to sit through the movie was the graphic torture scene. I couldn't even take comfort in the fact that Colin had to live through it because they couldn't kill Russell Crowe off, because I wasn't certain he was a big enough star by this point that he would be considered indispensable to the rest of the plot (he was). And other reviewers have pointed out that there is an awful lot of violence in this movie, some of it gratuitous. Was it really necessary, for example, for Yukio to shoot the friend who managed to dig up for him a gun that could not be traced?

The plot continues to build in intensity as the movie progresses, with a very few scenes of relief: the sex scene with its initial hints of bondage (there's probably some sort of symbolism here) and the delightful comic relief of Colin Hay as Jonah, the wheelchair-bound accordionist who drives everyone crazy with his playing of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, another one who for no discernible reason gets killed. Surely his playing wasn't that bad...

And speaking of Wagner, what really grabbed my attention was the final six or so minutes of the movie, played to the accompaniment of the Liebestod (love-death) music from the composer's Tristan und Isolde. Crowe, having been shot by Yukio before Yukio in turn is killed by Midori, is really superb here. It's very moving to watch the dying Colin try to reassure Midori by talking to her about the healing qualities of the beach where she is taking him, while smoking a cigarette at the same time (and he even has his seat belt on!). I won't give away the final part of the plot, other than to say that Wagner fans will recognize G?tterd?mmerung in the ending. I didn't think it was possible to make a more effective use of the Liebestod than Jean Negulesco did when he used it to accompany Joan Crawford's walking off into the ocean at the end of Humoresque; however, I found myself watching the ending of this movie over and over again, and I'm sure it was mostly for the music.

Overall a fascinating film, which I've given four stars to instead of five because of some of the gratuitous violence. Four-and-a-half is really more like it. Anyway, it's a film that I'd be more than happy to watch again--and in fact I'm going to have to get the DVD just to turn on the subtitles and catch Crowe's final words, which are covered up by the swelling Liebestod. Nothing Russell Crowe does deserves to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Positively operatic
Review: For some reason, revenge tragedies have gotten a bad rap ever since the ancient Greeks stopped writing them. Even Shakespeare's big attempt at a revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus, generally draws sneers from critics, even though it is a very powerful play with some beautiful poetry (see the film Titus when you get the chance). In a number of ways, Heaven's Burning might be considered a revenge tragedy and it turns out to be surprisingly good.

I'll be the first to admit that this isn't the kind of film that I would normally watch. And the film seemed a non-starter to begin with, with none of the characters seeming particularly interesting to me. Of course, that all changed when Russell Crowe as Colin made his first appearance onscreen. I've seen him in several other films in much higher-profile roles (The Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander) and I can't honestly say that he made more of an impression on me in those films than he did in this little film that most people have probably never even heard of.

This movie started out extremely slowly and gathered steam as it went along. I was uncertain at first whether I would be able to sit through the whole thing, but when it got to the part where getaway driver Colin bumps off the guy who is about to kill bank robbery hostage Midori (Yoki Kudo) even though she didn't do anything wrong (other than a lot of crying, moaning and whining), I knew I was going to stay tuned until the end. That's one of the things that distinguishes revenge tragedies; the hero does some act that sets in motion most of the other acts that eventually lead to his downfall. In this case, the man killed by Colin has a father and a brother who are not amused. I was reminded of Verdi's opera La forza del destino, where the hero Alvaro accidentally kills the father of the heroine Leonora in the course of an elopement, setting off the chain of events that ends with Alvaro also killing Leonora's hell-bent-on-revenge brother Carlo, who nonetheless manages to kill Leonora just before he dies. Getting back to Heaven's Burning, Midori also plays her part in her ultimate fate by running off and leaving her newlywed and rather boring husband Yukio (Kenji Isomura). Many folks have commented on the racist aspects of the plot; however, the fact that Midori and Yukio are both Japanese adds an additional layer to the story that would not be present otherwise, since Yukio's attempt at revenge is not only motivated by love but much more by the fact that he has been dishonored (he even tells his friend that he can't return to Japan from Australia, where he took Midori for their honeymoon). So both Colin and Midori have done things that lead to their ultimate downfalls, and just to make sure their fate is sealed, they have gotten the cops involved by robbing a bank.

One other point where I was not certain I would be able to sit through the movie was the graphic torture scene. I couldn't even take comfort in the fact that Colin had to live through it because they couldn't kill Russell Crowe off, because I wasn't certain he was a big enough star by this point that he would be considered indispensable to the rest of the plot (he was). And other reviewers have pointed out that there is an awful lot of violence in this movie, some of it gratuitous. Was it really necessary, for example, for Yukio to shoot the friend who managed to dig up for him a gun that could not be traced?

The plot continues to build in intensity as the movie progresses, with a very few scenes of relief: the sex scene with its initial hints of bondage (there's probably some sort of symbolism here) and the delightful comic relief of Colin Hay as Jonah, the wheelchair-bound accordionist who drives everyone crazy with his playing of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, another one who for no discernible reason gets killed. Surely his playing wasn't that bad...

And speaking of Wagner, what really grabbed my attention was the final six or so minutes of the movie, played to the accompaniment of the Liebestod (love-death) music from the composer's Tristan und Isolde. Crowe, having been shot by Yukio before Yukio in turn is killed by Midori, is really superb here. It's very moving to watch the dying Colin try to reassure Midori by talking to her about the healing qualities of the beach where she is taking him, while smoking a cigarette at the same time (and he even has his seat belt on!). I won't give away the final part of the plot, other than to say that Wagner fans will recognize Götterdämmerung in the ending. I didn't think it was possible to make a more effective use of the Liebestod than Jean Negulesco did when he used it to accompany Joan Crawford's walking off into the ocean at the end of Humoresque; however, I found myself watching the ending of this movie over and over again, and I'm sure it was mostly for the music.

Overall a fascinating film, which I've given four stars to instead of five because of some of the gratuitous violence. Four-and-a-half is really more like it. Anyway, it's a film that I'd be more than happy to watch again--and in fact I'm going to have to get the DVD just to turn on the subtitles and catch Crowe's final words, which are covered up by the swelling Liebestod. Nothing Russell Crowe does deserves to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A little strange but watchable
Review: Got this film because I love Russell Crowe...The film was a little strange, but he played the role great, I was hoping for a happier ending though...

Rating:
Summary: An Australian Road Movie Gone Awry
Review: Heaven's Burning is a love story. Boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy and girl get into trouble. I don't want to blow the ending for you, but the title is indicative of the fate of our two lovers. Although the lead actors, Russell Crowe (Colin) and Youki Kudoh (Midori) try their best to establish a relationship, the film is too short to support any real character development. The plot is contrived; a young, innocent Japanese woman on her honeymoon with her staid, uninteresting husband, fakes her own kidnapping to be rid of him. Colin comes on the scene as a guy down on his luck and willing to do something illegal to solve his money problems. In a bank heist, for which Colin is the get away driver, Midori is taken hostage. Colin saves her from his companions and they set off across the outback. They are followed by Midori's jilted husband and the robbers who all seek vengence. The finale is fairly predictable and since you don't really get a chance to know these characters, sympathy for them at the end is limited. However, Russell Crowe is superb - you feel his fear when he is cornered in a hotel room by his pursuers, and the violence in that scene was so realistic that I could barely watch. There was a true element of the unpredictable that kept the viewer on the edge of his/her seat. The supporting cast does their job adequately, but in their defense they don't get enough screen time to do their make an impression. I would recommend it only to anyone who is interested in seeing Russell Crowe in an earlier work.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I found this movie to be a heartbreaking love story with Colin and Midori only getting to spend a short time together but making that time very memorable. Russell Crowe shows considerable magnetism in this role and plays it exactly the way the character should be portrayed. The only thing that bothered me was the ending but I guess that coming together as they did, Colin and Midori weren't meant to live happily ever after. Very worth seeing!