Review of Sadgati (1981) by Jimmy J — 03 May 2011

A big strong masculine survivalist movie that quickly dissolves into a weird mix of mayhem and male sexual assault, to surprisingly good effect somehow. The beginning is slow and probably the only part of the film where the actors are allowed to bring some depth and personality to their otherwise underdeveloped characters. The rest is little more than an action film disguised as some kind of revenge fantasy/nature survival/police thriller hybrid. A really unique mix of genres that mostly works.

The only real issue I had with it was how shallow it all ultimately is. We only know the characters by their stereotypes: one's a leader, one's kind of a sensitive artist/nerd, one's a fun loving slob, and one's Jon Voight.

There's not much variety or back story or even particularly interesting interactions or conversations between any of them, though I did like Burt Reynolds who looks remarkably like a deformed version of Marlon Brando in this for some reason.

He plays the role with just the right amount of confident leadership you'd expect from someone who has managed to talk three inexperienced city friends into joining him for a weekend out taming wild rapids and braving the dangers of underdeveloped "hillbilly" country. I reckon. A shame he wasn't developed more.

Ultimately, yeah, a good, interesting, intense, somewhat disturbing movie, especially if you go into it not knowing exactly what it'll be about. Not worth a Best Picture nomination, though, in my opinion. It's just an above average action film with a little bit of male rape thrown in to keep you on your toes. Worth watching.