I feel like it's wrong to judge 1915: Legend of the Gurkhas. On the one hand there is clearly an attempt at something that is a little beyond the usual of a routine cinematic war movie as it ventures into the no man's land of films like Johnny Got His Gun or even All Quiet on the Western Front. On the other, a low budget and awkward direction prove to be major distractions to what is clearly a thoughtful film, even if some of the ideas are muddy.
Gurkha soldier Kulbir Thapa (Samir Gurung) is in yet another pointless battle in the trenches of World War I but seems to be suffering something of a mental lapse as he stops fighting in the middle of it all and ends up the sole survivor from his troop, trapped among the enemy fortifications where he must find his way back to his own side. That he ends up getting many of his mates killed while he is haunted by...something...for...reasons... is one of the main difficulties and why I had such trouble with his character. Another being he basically grunts the entire time (to be fair, he's been shot) even when he's trying to sneak through the enemy lines which struck me as borderline suicidal. I think there is some sort of meditation on pacifism being tried in all this but it begs the question how did he get to be a soldier in the first place if that was his nature?
There are many interesting concepts that are entertained but never seem to be focused let alone resolved, perhaps the brief running time prevented them from being properly fleshed out but it ultimately left me unsatisfied. A real near miss but probably worth seeing anyway as at least it tried something different.
Gurkha soldier Kulbir Thapa (Samir Gurung) is in yet another pointless battle in the trenches of World War I but seems to be suffering something of a mental lapse as he stops fighting in the middle of it all and ends up the sole survivor from his troop, trapped among the enemy fortifications where he must find his way back to his own side. That he ends up getting many of his mates killed while he is haunted by...something...for...reasons... is one of the main difficulties and why I had such trouble with his character. Another being he basically grunts the entire time (to be fair, he's been shot) even when he's trying to sneak through the enemy lines which struck me as borderline suicidal. I think there is some sort of meditation on pacifism being tried in all this but it begs the question how did he get to be a soldier in the first place if that was his nature?
There are many interesting concepts that are entertained but never seem to be focused let alone resolved, perhaps the brief running time prevented them from being properly fleshed out but it ultimately left me unsatisfied. A real near miss but probably worth seeing anyway as at least it tried something different.
