Rating 38/100

AFI Top 100: #38

Well, it’s not a Western.

I was so prepared, cringing in my seat as I hit play, knowing that on the other side of this movie was a long section of good options - or so I hoped. 

The rules of the game are simple. We must finish a movie on the AFI list. It doesn’t matter how much we hate it, and there have been a few of those… it must be FINISHED. Though, no one tell the judges of the game that I haven’t exactly finished Annie Hall. We’ll just keep that between us. 

So I sat there and I watched every boring minute of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It has Humphrey Bogart in it, and it’s not a western. At least it had that going for it. 

What is it really than? I think it’s safe to go with drama. I’m making a big deal about it not being a western. What gives? I just hate westerns a lot. I’ve seen the classics, Searchers and High Noon, and I still don’t like them. 

Circling back to the point of this blog.

If I had to review this film in one word it would be boring. I was bored through it all. A moment here or there caught my interest, like Bogart’s acting. He was decent enough once or twice, but nothing else to make this old shriveled heart feel a thing. Just kidding… my heart is anything but old and shriveled. 

Here’s the thing. When a man is fighting for his life by staying awake and then falls asleep, I expect a little more emotional payoff when said man is led into the woods to be killed. I sat there, looking at my husband, flummoxed as to what they were all trying to do. I couldn’t feel a single emotion. The guy just got up and shuffled through the trees like it was no big deal. Okay… cue me grabbing my phone and playing a few games. If a movie can’t deliver, why am I wasting my time? 

Then there’s the cherry on top… the very obvious plot line. Fred is very adamant that he would never take more than his share if he struck gold. This point is hammered in when he doesn’t take more than his share of his old foreman’s money. I wouldn’t be that good. I would have added on for interest and clearly damages. Now we get to the trope that I hate the most, the downward spiral of a person over money. It’s a trigger for me. Too bad the idea couldn’t have been different. Pushed the boundaries beyond the typical plot that’s always seen. I guess I’m being a harsh judge when this could very easily have been one of the firsts on the screen. Then again, movies on the AFI top 100 list should be able to hold the test of time. 

I’m still trying to figure out how this movie was ranked #38 when I’ve seen better. It’s kind of a fun coincidence that #38 received a rating of 38 from me.

The emotional payoffs left a lot to be desired. Now, let’s talk about that fourth main character that you never see on the screen - the score. There’s helping the viewer along and then there’s hand holding every single moment so that all the viewer can see are the musical notes. Think old school silent films. And that’s if the music would actually fit the scene. So many times the score felt like a fourth character that was shouting out the wrong lines. It threw off quite a few moments, again, destroying the emotional payoff. 

*eye roll*

The content wasn’t for me, the movie never paid off, and then the score destroyed most of the timing… was there a single good moment. Well the cinematography wasn’t all that bad. I did enjoy the lighting at times because that was the only thing I was paying attention to. Huston stole the show a lot. The set was nicely done. And then there was the White Saviorism moment….

You read that right. Let’s take a nice walk down Me and White Supremacy lane and look at the glaring moment of white supremacy. A white man must come to save the Mexican child. Once the child is saved, he’s treated like a god, because heaven forbid, this group of people haven’t figured out how to survive hundreds of years on their own. *kicks over soap box and storms off*

Okay, I won’t rant anymore. 

Just remember, it’s not a western.

Happy Watching

Love Kait