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Gunless, a Canadian western
07 September 2010
Last night we watched one of the most entertaining films I've seen in years: A Canadian western called Gunless, starring Paul Gross of Passchendale fame.
Gunless is the story of the stereotypical American gunfighter - The Montana Kid - who flees a group of vigilantes and ends up riding across the border into a small Canadian frontier village called Barclay's Brush. It's a bit of a spoof on Westerns as The Montana Kid give up his gunfighting to engage in a bit of lighthearted kulturekampf with the Canadian townspeople.
Canadians who, by the way, as well armed, but not really eager to engage in gunfighting. So the title isn't about gun control. It's about a gunfighter trying to come to grips with his past life.
The Kid struggles with his emotions as he becomes more acclimatized to the town's ways and accepted - even lionized - by the townspeople. Along the way he encounters the Northwestern Mounted Police, a combination of threat and bumbling bureaucracy and the small Chinese population on the fringe of the community.
But inevitably the vigilantes cross the border and arrive in town for the classic showdown.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-Md46Exxs"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=QK-Md46Exxs[/url]
While the film garnered lukewarm reviews (according to Wikipedia) from the critics, I don't think I've laughed aloud so many times watching a film in decades nor enjoyed a film as much. The humour comes from a dry and witty dialogue mixed with sight gags timed to perfection. Gross is brilliant as the gunfighter and Sienna Guillory plays the frontier widow with a wry, smart edge.
It's a nicely crafted story with a good mix of characters, spectacular scenery and the inevitable love story all woven in. And the tongue-in-cheek play on the traditional Western genre is beautifully and intelligently crafted without the sort of sophomoric humour you find in most Hollywood comedies.
Fun, well filmed, great dialogue, terrific scenery and well paced. What more could you want from a Western? It's really worth renting. Check it out on gunless.ca. And make sure to watch the special features, too, once you've watched the movie.
I'd give it 4 and a half stars out of five and tell the critics to watch it again, this time with the sound turned on so you can listen to the dialogue, not just read the lips.
And if you have the time, check out the "secret" history of The Kid and Barclay's Brush on this site.
Gunless is the story of the stereotypical American gunfighter - The Montana Kid - who flees a group of vigilantes and ends up riding across the border into a small Canadian frontier village called Barclay's Brush. It's a bit of a spoof on Westerns as The Montana Kid give up his gunfighting to engage in a bit of lighthearted kulturekampf with the Canadian townspeople.
Canadians who, by the way, as well armed, but not really eager to engage in gunfighting. So the title isn't about gun control. It's about a gunfighter trying to come to grips with his past life.
The Kid struggles with his emotions as he becomes more acclimatized to the town's ways and accepted - even lionized - by the townspeople. Along the way he encounters the Northwestern Mounted Police, a combination of threat and bumbling bureaucracy and the small Chinese population on the fringe of the community.
But inevitably the vigilantes cross the border and arrive in town for the classic showdown.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-Md46Exxs"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=QK-Md46Exxs[/url]
While the film garnered lukewarm reviews (according to Wikipedia) from the critics, I don't think I've laughed aloud so many times watching a film in decades nor enjoyed a film as much. The humour comes from a dry and witty dialogue mixed with sight gags timed to perfection. Gross is brilliant as the gunfighter and Sienna Guillory plays the frontier widow with a wry, smart edge.
It's a nicely crafted story with a good mix of characters, spectacular scenery and the inevitable love story all woven in. And the tongue-in-cheek play on the traditional Western genre is beautifully and intelligently crafted without the sort of sophomoric humour you find in most Hollywood comedies.
Fun, well filmed, great dialogue, terrific scenery and well paced. What more could you want from a Western? It's really worth renting. Check it out on gunless.ca. And make sure to watch the special features, too, once you've watched the movie.
I'd give it 4 and a half stars out of five and tell the critics to watch it again, this time with the sound turned on so you can listen to the dialogue, not just read the lips.
And if you have the time, check out the "secret" history of The Kid and Barclay's Brush on this site.
