DVD Review: The Exiles
by Warren Curry
11/15/2009
Kent Mackenzie’s “The Exiles” is a “lost” film from 1961 (shot in 1958), which details a day in the lives of a group of Native Americans relocated from an Arizona reservation to the Bunker Hill area of downtown Los Angeles. Spectacularly restored, thanks to the dual efforts of the USC Moving Image Archive and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and given a deluxe 2-disc DVD release (following a 2008 theatrical run) courtesy of Milestone Film and Video, “The Exiles” is an unearthed cinematic treasure. Simple yet profound, the late Mackenzie’s feature debut (he would only make one more feature) works as both a historical document and a stellar filmmaking exercise, which captures a poetically gritty realism that’s still fresh nearly 50 years after the movie’s completion.
“The Exiles” has been compared to Italian neorealism, John Cassavetes films and the French New Wave (I agree with the first two comparisons more than the third). In fact, take away the voiceover monologues and it might even be safe to say it’s mumblecore four decades before that genre was coined. Though the film has documentary elements (all the non professional actors are playing themselves), the scenes appear to be directed, but with an obvious attention to art mirroring reality. Any narrative that exists is loose structurally, yet there is coherence as we meet thoughtful, expectant mother Yvonne and a group of carefree, hard partying men, who could be seen as the impoverished, Native American equivalent to the characters in “Swingers.”
Bunker Hill, once an area for the city’s financial elite, was decaying but still had a charm — and certainly an energy — when this film was shot. Just a few years later, the community would start being redeveloped, all the homes wiped away to make room for commercial buildings. To see an area of the city (one I call home) that doesn’t exist anymore is fascinating, as is watching a movie centering on a group of people whose lives are rarely depicted in cinema. Mackenzie was not Native American, and it’s commendable that the film doesn’t pander to or exhibit any sort of pre-occupation with the characters’ ethnicity. To put it more bluntly, this isn’t guilty white liberal melodrama. Rather, it’s an honest, low-key, warts-and-all slice of urban life.
Mackenzie was working on a minimal budget, but his black-and-white images — the efforts of three cinematographers — are beautifully expressive (the film’s final shot is sublime). The only area where the budgetary restrictions reveal flaws is the sound. All of the dialogue was dubbed in post-production, which is betrayed by sync problems and an artificial sounding dialogue mix. However, the sound gets a boost from some unexpected, rockin’ songs from a band called The Revels, which gives the film a shot of adrenalin in the right places.
A feeling of discovery is a wonderful thing, a sensation I often felt while watching this film. While the lack of a “plot” is likely to be a deterrent to some, “The Exiles” admirably marches to the beat of its own drummer. It’s unconventional style, unique perspective and palpable sincerity are qualities often in short supply in cinema. The best treasures are usually the ones you need to dig deepest to find — “The Exiles” is no exception.
DVD Comments:
Milestone Film and Video, much like they did with their release of Charles Burnett’s “Killer of Sheep (another “lost” classic), pulls out all the stops for this 2-disc set. In addition to the feature film, disc 1 contains a commentary track from Native American author Sherman Alexie (who “presents” the film with Burnett) and film critic Sean Axmaker. The disc’s other audio bonus feature is a question and answer session from the film’s opening night at UCLA, which includes a handful of people who worked on the movie. Mackenzie’s student documentary short, “Bunker Hill 1956,” appears along with “The Exiles” theatrical trailer and clips from the documentary “Los Angeles Plays Itself,” which is credited for initiating the renewed interest in the film.
Disc 2 is jam packed with even more material. The audio features are an Alexie interview conducted by Axmaker, and the easily excitable author (at least judging from his various appearances on these discs) joins Burnett and Milestone’s Dennis Doros for a radio interview on “The Leonard Lopate Show.” Three more Mackenzie shorts, the most intriguing entitled “Ivan and His Father” plays like a sociology experiment, are included in addition to the short “White Fawn’s Devotion,” reportedly the first Native American film, which dates back to 1910 (directed by James Young Deer). Greg Kimble’s excellent short documentary “Bunker Hill: A Table of Urban Renewal” and Robert Kirste’s even shorter “Last Days of Angels Flight” are the disc’s highlights. If you want even more, load disc 2 into your computer’s DVD-ROM to download a bevy of material such as the film’s original publicity material, its script, other Mackenzie scripts and plenty more — Milestone truly left no stone unturned!
“Important” is a word too casually applied to films these days, but “The Exiles” warrants that praise. The care paid to this extensive (and then some) DVD release is fitting — a fabulous addition to any cinema lover’s collection.
contact: wcurry718@yahoo.com
THE EXILES (1961)
Director: Kent Mackenzie
Cast: Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, Tommy Reynolds
Not Rated, 72 minutes
(Available on DVD November 17, 2009 from Milestone Film and Video)
DVD Features:
Full Frame 1.33
English Dolby Digital 2.0
Bonus Material:
Disc One:
- The 2008 Theatrical Trailer. 2:16
- Bunker Hill 1956. Courtesy of USC Moving Image Archive. 17:25
- Los Angeles Plays Itself. Clips from Thom Andersen’s Masterpiece. Courtesy of the filmmaker. 2:58
Audio Bonus Features:
- Watching The Exiles with Sherman Alexie and Sean Axmaker. 72:46
- Audio of The Exiles‘ Opening Night at UCLA. Courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive. 51:23
Disc Two:
- A Skill for Molina. Courtesy of NARA. 15:36
- Story of a Rodeo Cowboy. Courtesy of the Mackenzie Family. 25:47
- Ivan and His Father. Courtesy of Gary Goldsmith. 13:40
- Robert Kirste’s Last Day of Angels Flight. Courtesy of the Academy Film Archive and the Kirste Family. 2:31
- Bunker Hill: A Tale of Urban Renewal. Directed by Greg Kimble. 22:26
- White Fawn’s Devotion: The First Native American Film. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. 11:59
Audio Bonus Features:
Sherman Alexie and Sean Axmaker: Second Interview. 37:41
The Leonard Lopate Show with Sherman Alexie and Charles Burnett. Courtesy of WNYC. 18:08
The Exiles Stills Gallery. Courtesy of Erik Daarstad.
DVD-Rom Downloadable Material:
- Production History on Bunker Hill 1956
- The 1956 Funding Proposal for The Exiles
- Six Scripts for Thunderbird and The Exiles
- The Final Script for The Exiles
- Original Publicity Material for The Exiles from 1963
- The Making of The Exiles: Mackenzie’s Master’s Thesis
- The “lost” Jug Band Man script: Kent Mackenzie’s Unfinished Film. Courtesy of Teresa Kennett.
- Kent Mackenzie’s Last Resume
- Milestone’s 2009 Press Kit for The Exiles