1988 Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey, The (60th!)

What else happened this year? From memory, this is when Pinochet got kicked out - I was kind of right, he lost a vote an was booted out two years later. Seems a lot of burgeoning independence in USSR states, too.

What is the plot - in one sentence? A filthy bunch of Medieval miners, led by a kid who can see the future, head to 'a city' to plant an enchanted cross that will ward off the Black plague.

I don't have time, just spoil it for me? The city in question is, of course, 1988 Wellington. They don't seem to realise that they are in the future, and eventually get the cross up. Despite the act of getting to the church taking most of the movie, they return very quickly, It's found that the kid had the plague, and he's (implied to be) buried on a lake. He caught it from his brother.

What is the meaning of the title? The kid who has visions is the navigator, and they do go on an odyssey in the medieval era.

 

Here's the kid and his older brother. There's not much of a family resemblance in terms of their: personalities, looks or accents. This is from just shortly before the older one fucks off for the rest of the movie for no reason.

Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? No, the single woman in the movie is happily pregnant, and... they don't even meet a woman while they're in the future. It's weird enough that it has aged as well as it can: it was as of the time then as it is now.

Any thoughts? This was weird. The group that they get to go along 'to the city' don't seem to mind that they're in the future at all. Other than freaking out at a busy road, they don't really comment on it, other than that it's a city, so anything can happen.They don't really get up to much - they meet a blacksmith, cross a road, find the church, so it's not really an 'Odyssey' in any real sense.

They're described as 'Cumbrian' miners, but the accents are just terrible, up there with some of the worst ever heard. They may as well have kept speaking New Zealand accent - this is a Kiwi movie. The worst offender was the main kid, who did a kind of Irish brogue which sounded jarring even in the gang of others. Speaking of which, a New Zealand movie, where a ragtag group of men go on a mission, some of whom are comic relief? It is a bit Lord Of The Rings lite.

There are occasional interesting scenes, like the emergence of a Submarine from the sea, a horse on a boat, and a giant skeleton floating past the moon blowing a horn. However, these interesting scenes are few and far between. There's some nice cinematography, but the central conflict - they've got to get a church bell up on a church before dawn, would be done easily if there wasn't a needless conflict between the leader of the gang and the kid - he chases him on a horse for some reason. It's weird, but weirdly earnest, too.

Would you recommend this? Through this I was watching it and thinking 'who is this for?' Is it an art film? There are a lot of arty diversions and shots. The central story, a violence-free, sexless quest, in the future, is for kids, you'd assume - but other than the main one, there aren't really any. It's a very strange thing, and was almost always destined for obscurity.

Final thoughts? This features an electronics shop with a wall of TVs for passersby to admire, and which appears in most 1980s movies. Come to think of it, they appear in most movies where people travel in time. I am not sure that anything like that ever happened in real life, presumably it's expensive to run all night, and risky to do anyway, so I will guess that it's the invention of movies. I won't check it out because I don't really care. 

A lot of shots are repeated - the kid has the vision, and then it happens in real life, and then it is shown again. It's pretty jarring. There's a scene of a lit torch being flung down a deep mining hole, from the side, which is shown about 5 times. When the kid 'falls' at the end, we're shown him falling probably 6 times. I don't remember how he was saved... oh it was an 'it was all a dream' ending. Yeah, that ending.

 

 

60 down now - probably about 50 to go, I can't believe it either. All of my dreams are coming true. The rest are all available here.