Der Ketzer (1979)
67KDer Ketzer: Directed by John Huston. With Brad Dourif, John Huston, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton. Fresh out of the army, Hazel Motes attempts to open the first Church Without Christ in the small town of Taulkinham.
“John Huston used to describe the story as that of a young man who was disappointed by Jesus.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is one of his least accessible works,not for the mainstream,and we can put it near u0026quot;reflections in a golden eyeu0026quot; (1967),u0026quot;under the volcanou0026quot; (1984) and his final apotheosis u0026quot;the deadu0026quot; (1987)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Wise bloodu0026quot; is a the story of a long suicide.Itu0026#39;s a hell of a thing to tell the world u0026quot;I believe in nothingu0026quot; .the main character is so weird,so irrational,so unconventional that only an outstanding thespian could play him:thatu0026#39;s what Brad Dourif does ,and his performance is remarkable:in the last third of the movie,he has almost nothing to say,and he must express everything with his face and his spellbinding eyes.In this last third,the only thing to do for the character is to nullify his life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJohn Huston briefly appears as his father,the preacher man,but these flashbacks last hardly three minutes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Wise bloodu0026quot; is hustonian to the core.Vanity of vanities,all is vanity,all that man will try is bound to fail:itu0026#39;s everywhere in every milestone of Hustonu0026#39;s career,from u0026quot;the asphalt jungleu0026quot; to u0026quot;treasure of the sierra madreu0026quot; and from u0026quot; the misfitsu0026quot; to u0026quot;the man who would be kingu0026quot; But here the hero does not even try :praying Jesus or denying him does not mean more to him than shaking the hand of a gorilla.And making money with his church without a savior does not even come to his mind.Around him,everybody needs something to lean on,be it a grotesque ape,a mummy or simply a man (see the landlady).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn 1979,Huston was more u0026quot;modernu0026quot; than the most daring young director.”
