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The Exiles (1961)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
3/25
3/25:
There's a cast of real American Indians in an early 60's film?
Now, that's rare. At first, I thought The Exiles would be a documentary, but it turned out to
be not. Making matters worse, the presented topic is so mundane that race doesn't even matter. Drinking and
socializing at bars is universal in any century. There's nothing profound about it. I believe the goal of
movies is to escape the real world.
The mistake is following the male losers when the focus should've been on Yvonne. She has the potential of
turning The Exiles into something like A Taste of Honey.
That's only contingent on a strong script. This one doesn't have it at all, preferring to use
voice-over narration 90% of the time with the rest dubbed. At least, the black-and-white cinematography
is striking.
If there's anything to be surprised by, it's that the film took three and half years to make. How hard can
it be? Just shoot everything in one night or so, and be done with it. As for the cast, nobody ever
acted again. The Bunker Hill area of Los Angeles, where the film was shot in, is no longer there, having
been razed shortly afterwards.
All in all, I hate to say this, but American Indians should be embarrassed of The Exiles.