"Passage West" is one of those odd little films that's more than the sum of its parts. The acting is nothing to write home about, and the directing is little more than perfunctory. But it has an odd sincerity and integrity that gives it inexplicable appeal.
The script is no prize-winner, but the director could have done a lot more with it. On the other hand, his rather dead-pan direction avoids punching up all the clichés. And this story is mostly clichés.
But not totally. There's a scene where a mother whose infant has died goes crazy and sings to a doll in the cradle that held the child. There are other "small moments" like that.
My favorite moment comes when the wagon master (a minister) finally gets sufficiently fed up with the leader of the criminals who've taken over, and punches him out. What follows is one of the longest (and well-choreographed) fist fights I've seen. (I'm working on a script with a major fist fight, and have added this scene as a reference, should the film ever get made. Hah, hah, hah.)
"Passage West" is one of those films to watch during a period of insomnia. (It's just aired twice on Grit.) You won't be ecstatic, but neither will you feel your time has been wasted,
The script is no prize-winner, but the director could have done a lot more with it. On the other hand, his rather dead-pan direction avoids punching up all the clichés. And this story is mostly clichés.
But not totally. There's a scene where a mother whose infant has died goes crazy and sings to a doll in the cradle that held the child. There are other "small moments" like that.
My favorite moment comes when the wagon master (a minister) finally gets sufficiently fed up with the leader of the criminals who've taken over, and punches him out. What follows is one of the longest (and well-choreographed) fist fights I've seen. (I'm working on a script with a major fist fight, and have added this scene as a reference, should the film ever get made. Hah, hah, hah.)
"Passage West" is one of those films to watch during a period of insomnia. (It's just aired twice on Grit.) You won't be ecstatic, but neither will you feel your time has been wasted,