Blackthorn

BLACKTHORN is exactly the type of film that the big cinema screen is made for. That this film was so underseen in 2011 is heartbreakingly sad and makes a good case for everything that’s wrong with Hollywood and film distributors in the US; a position I don’t always hold - I’m not an anti-Hollywood type. A South American western that continues the myth of Butch Cassidy in his waning years, it was filmed on location in the mountains and plateaus of Bolivia. The stunning cinematography would have been enough to keep me watching in itself, but here we’re blessed a great script and perfect cast as well. Sam Shepard an aging Butch Cassidy living in the mountains of Bolivia under the name of James Blackthorn discovers that his long ago lover Etta Place has passed and yearns to visit their child whom he’s never met and who knows him only as Uncle James through letters. As he sets off on his journey trouble befalls him when he runs into Eduardo Apodaca (Eduardo Noriega) a Spanish engineer, on the run for stealing money from a Bolivian mining company he was working for. Blackthorn at first recognizes in Apogado the same altruistic ethics he had in his younger years - only stealing money from greedy corporations, never from the workers, never harming anyone in the process, and this is the basis that forms an uneasy friendship as they help each other escape both the ex-Pinkerton (Stephan Rea) who never believed Cassidy was dead as had been reported years ago and Apodaca’s pursuers. Noriega was an excellent choice to portray the engineer, due to his ability to be both charming and duplicitous, almost sinister, a common character motif in his films. The film is intercut with flashbacks to a younger Cassidy (played by Nicolaj Coster-Waldau), Sundance and Etta Place which work well to clarify Blackthorns current predicament. This is a gorgeous, well made film. I didn’t like the ambiguous ending at first, (which I feel is safe to say without giving away in details), but came to realize it was the only way to end a tale of Butch Cassidy

Good

This is a great movie. Yes, it is slow-moving for a Western -- not your typical shoot-em-up, though there is some fighting and killing. It's a what-if story: What if Butch Cassidy didn't die in a shootout in Bolivia, instead melting away into an anonymous existence in South America, living off the land. The story begins when Cassidy -- now calling himself Blackthorn -- gets a letter telling him that his old love Etta Place has died in California. He decides to go there to get better acquainted with her son. He refers to himself as the boy's uncle, but he may be something more.Along the way, he hooks up with a young Spaniard and winds up being pulled into a search for gold in the mountains. As always with gold, there are plenty of people trying to find it -- or take it from those who have it.This is an adventure story, but it's also a thoughtful look at a former train robber who's "gone straight" for many years, and what that last adventure in the mountains may cost him.I originally rented this movie through Netflix, and I liked it so much that I bought it. It's not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. Sam Shepard is a great actor, and that skill is on display in this movie.

Was suggested to me when I said I liked the movie Old Henry and while ti's a different movie, it's quite well done. Usual western with the slow pace but in Boliva scenery (which is quite amazing) and a good twist near the end. The pains of getting old. Worth your time.

I am a western movie fanatic. Blackthorn rates among some of the best westerns I have seen. The director is definitely influenced in Clint Eastwood's style in all aspects. Here is how I rate this movieScenery: 5/5 A nice change of the usual western scenes. BoliviaActing: 4/5 Some of the Bolivians actors were just not perfectCostumes: 4/5 very good OverallMusic: 5/5 Lucio Godoy music fits so well in all scenes. The acoustic guitar gives it a great touch. Highly recommended.Story: 5/5 love the story and the imagination, based on truth, since Cassidy's DNA did not match the body found in Bolivia.Overall: Highly recommendedSimilar good westerns:1. 3.10 to Yuma2. Pale rider3. Unforgiven4. High Plains Drifter5. Broken TrailBravo Bolivia

It's nice to see Sam Shepard commit to a whole movie. One where he doesn't die within the first ten minutes or his role is so small he may have ten lines of dialogue. We have a saying in this house: "Pulled a Sam Shepard" meaning a well known actor, for whatever reason, exits a movie too soon or has a small...VERY small, supporting role. I read somewhere that Shepard wasn't too fond of acting as people would not take him seriously as a playwright or something along those lines. This is BS Sam! If you like Shepard and the story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, you will not be disappointed!

Excellent film! I don't know what people expect from films nowadays. I read complaints about the film stock fercrying out loud!It's a good story that has twists and turns. The western genre has not seen many classics in a while. Some of the modern takes are a bit extreme in the brutality. Of course it was a brutal time but westerns were never meant to be historically accurate per se but work as modern American myths, teaching vehicles for right and wrong, good and bad.Blackthorn fill the parched landscape of modern westerns with a classic tale that works on many levels.

Okay movie. Wouldn't buy again.