Nicolas Cage has had an interesting career. Academy Award winner, Golden Globe award winner, box office draw. Then a divorce and tax issues took their toll financially. A few films that didn’t do the same box office business previous films resulted in him taking on nearly any project that came his way. Among those were some of the best performances of his career (JOE and MANDY among them). But like a number of actors who were strong in the late 80s through 90s the studios were tossing him less stellar roles. Which is sad.
PRIOSNERS OF THE GHOSTLAND is not likely to raise Cage’s profile. While a solid film it’s a bit too strange for most viewers. Cage does a great job here but that’s not enough to save the film from the oddness that is on screen.
The film takes place in a future Japan ravaged by nuclear waste. Cage plays Hero, a big time bank robber who hits a bank with partner Psycho (Nick Cassavetes). In the course of the robbery a number of people are killed including a small child. Hero is captured and tossed into the dankest cell they can find in a place called Samurai Town.
One day Hero is removed from his cell and brought out to meet the Governor (Bill Mosely), the ruler of Samurai Town. Given a new leather suit to wear he puts it on willingly and is then told why he’s been summoned. One of the Governor’s “granddaughters” has left the town and entered the Ghostland. In return for rescuing his “granddaughter” the Governor agrees to let Hero free.
To insure that he doesn’t run off, the new outfit he is wearing comes with preventive measures. Explosive devices are embedded in the outfit, two near his private parts, one on each are and two on his neck. Should he get excited and attempt to molest the girl the lower bombs explode. If he attempts to strike her the ones in his arms. And if he should fail to return her in 3 days all of them explode at once.
Hero sets out to his task only to wreck the car he was in when faced with a mirage. Or was it? In any event he is rescued by the Ratman, a strange person who comes from deep inside Ghostland. He takes him to the main city, if you can call it that, and there Hero learns that no one escapes from Ghostland. He sees an odd assortment of people there from clock worshipping cult to scavengers of the land.
Hero gets a lead on Bernice (Sofia Boutella), the “granddaughter” he was searching for. He rescues her and tries to leave only to be stopped. In a world where the strange is normal, where ghosts might be real and where the followers of a clock cult may hold the answer, Hero must find a way to escape Ghostland or face his own death.
What sounds like a pretty straightforward film is far from it. The story her feels like a mashup of so many films we’ve already seen, in particular the MAD MAX movies. Toss in a western or two as well as some surreal Japanese fantasy films and you get the picture. The problem is that we jump back and forth from one to the other and zig zag back and forth in time and space so much that it’s easy to get lost. Add to that the film is half in Japanese requiring subtitles and it makes it that much more difficult.
Visually the movie is stunning, the Ghostland the least so as it feels like any other post-apocalyptic world we’ve seen countless times over. Dirt everywhere, mechanical backdrops and more. The sequences in Samurai Town are exquisite though with bright colors and fabrics as well as some eerie walls of faces that work well. The cinematography of the entire film is crisp and clean and well thought out. The best parts of this film are these.
Cage does a fine job here given what he has but it is Bill Mosely who stands out among the actors. A slight touch of southern gentleman, prognosticating politician, slick con man and lecherous old man all come together in the character of the Governor and that’s in no small part to his performance. Mosely has always been relegated to smaller roles or lead parts in some of the goriest films made. This shows he has deserved better.
On the whole this movie looks spectacular but as far as an entertaining film to watch repeatedly it falls far short of that goal. Still, if you can’t find anything better this week you might want to give it a watch.
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